The Devil Among Us Act 1
by HazzatheMan
Summary: My first ever FanFiction just so you know. Set after TWAU; Bigby and Snow find each other as well as a long forgotten evil that threatens to destroy Fabletown. Rated a strong M for language, sex and violence. Reviews would be greatly appreciated!
1. Fancy Dress part 1

**This is my first FanFiction so please be nice.**

**Fancy Dress part 1 – The Halloween Celebration**

Every year in Fabletown, a celebration of the Halloween season is held in honour of the Mundy tradition that occurred at the same time at the end of October. Though for the Fables in exile, the event was more of an excuse for them to hold a fancy dress event that led to socialising, dancing, lots of drinking and silence.

Whilst the Mundies celebrated by dressing up in scary costumes, the reality of it was more obvious for the Fables, some would merely have to change form or remove their glamour to achieve such scary appearances, so instead Mayor Cole decided that the event should be a come-as-anything fancy dress party.

Usually everyone would show up and every year the outfits would either remain constant with a previous theme or something new would be tried; for example Mayor Cole would always come dressed as a court jester complete with a stripped uniform, jingle hat and joker baton whilst giving off a very bubbly persona and telling bad jokes.

The only one to never really show up at the celebration was the town's Sheriff Bigby Wolf; he always put his lateness or complete absence down to being busy with work like having to break up a fight somewhere or finishing off urgent paperwork, but most were smart enough to know that it was all a lie; in truth Bigby never felt completely accepted into the community, even after centuries of selfless and loyal service to those around him Bigby never quite felt liked or trusted by anyone around him, well given his background should he expect it?

He was after all the Big Bad Wolf of legend, the most feared creature in the Homelands alongside the Adversary himself, he had always wondered how events would have unfolded had he joined the Adversary instead of Fabletown but thinking back it wouldn't have lasted long, Bigby hated being told what to do by those he deemed as being beneath him, he had suffered enough orders whilst serving in the Mundy wars and even then he had to restrain himself from going rogue and doing as he pleased.

However this year he had told Snow and Cole that he would make the celebration; no one really knew what had brought this on. It had been a full 4 months since the Crooked Man had been turned into a crow and magically imprisoned in a birdcage by Aunty Greenleaf, an act which no one seemed to thank Bigby for, in fact they seemed to resent him for it; Bigby was trying to prove that he had reformed from his evil ways by finding an equally effective alternative to getting rid of a serious problem, but for once his instinct to just kill the Crooked Man would've been the better option. "_Ah whatever"_ he thought to himself, "_I did what I thought was the right thing to do and that's all that needs to be said_".

Around 7pm everyone was gathered in the dance hall beneath Mayor Cole's penthouse apartment. It was a glamorous and heart-warming affair and quite a sight to behold: Halloween decorations like skulls and pumpkins had been physically and magically adorned all over by the 13th floor witches with a low mist created to add to the intentionally creepy affair. The outfits were ranging from mild to outstanding:

Beauty and Beast had come in typical royal attire, with Beauty wearing a dark red velvet dress and Beast wearing a royal garb made from the same materials but also sporting a pair of brown duelling gloves and a dark blue cape over his left shoulder; Bluebeard was wearing expensive looking sea-faring attire to mimic his pirating days but he had also adorned himself with an expensive looking red coat and a jewel encrusted cutlass to go with it adding in a sense of nobility, Charming had come dressed in black with an eye mask and a flowing cape and simple rapier sword from his collection to mimic a swashbuckling hero (ironic to most people present to say the least), Jack had come dressed as a skeleton while Rose was wearing a rather tight and revealing Devil costume that she had obviously bought from a Mundy store complete with blood red lipstick and horns.

The real show-stealer was Snow White of course; having applied dark red lipstick and a lot of mascara and eye shadow, she was wearing a black dress parted over her left leg up towards the thigh for better movement with the torso consisting of a leather corset tied up at the back in a knot (the whole attire was one dress) the corset did well to accentuate her already impressive bosom and her hair was down and flowing as it pleased, on her feet were a pair of heeled leather boots held in place by buckles and straps. She looked amazing in her witch attire but was about to be shunned aside when the elevator doors opened to reveal a true sight to behold.

Standing tall with his head angled down was Bigby Wolf dressed in a remarkable Victorian-era outfit: an older century white shirt with lace collar and wrists covered by a black tunic vest adorned with light grey symbols over which he wore a large black overcloak that nearly hit the floor behind him, black slacks tucked into a vintage looking pair of black leather riding boots with the tops folded over, a tri-corn hat made of blackened leather with an eagle feather in the left side adorned his head, looking at his waist he wore a simple brown belt to hold up his slacks over which he wore a larger black belt loosely around his waist, the larger belt contained a fancy looking rapier sword adorned with simple decoration and he was carrying a black cane with an ornate steel head in his left hand with the head of the cane shaped like a snarling wolf's head; lifting his face up Bigby had both shaved his stubble and cut his hair to a length that he could comb it back more neatly. Of course it wouldn't have been Bigby if he wasn't smoking, in his mouth was an old-fashioned pipe filled with tobacco shavings which he had just sparked up with a match.

People were at a complete loss for words! Bigby had not only shown up on time but he had come in a very authentic outfit and the look suited him. Bigby then very elegantly strode out of the elevator with his pipe in his mouth and stood in the room in silence waiting for the others to begin laughing at his attire or commenting negatively on his presence there; but neither of those things happened.

Bigby was instead met with appreciative smiles and pleasant surprise; the Fables began to flock around him commenting on how amazing his outfit was and how good he looked now that he had cleaned up. Snow was standing in the back of the small crowd with Rose, looking on in pleasant surprise at Bigby's sheer presence; Rose broke the silence with bites on her lower lip whispering into Snow's ear.

"The Wolf looks tasty dressed like that doesn't he?"

Snow playfully elbowed Rose in the side and the two sisters giggled at the comment, indeed Bigby did look remarkably dashing and handsome in his very noble attire, almost as if he was born to wear it... Snow became lost in her thoughts "_No Snow, stop thinking about him like that, you are NOT attracted to Bigby Wolf, besides he'll just hurt you like everyone else has... right?" _Snow pondered on her thoughts for what seemed like an eternity; she had never really thought of Bigby as anything more than a trusted colleague, maybe even a close friend, but to consider that she might have feelings of love for him was something else entirely, maybe she did?.

The happiness was eventually ruined and Snow was brought back to reality by Bluebeard who broke the joy with a question, standing only 2 feet away from Bigby, Bluebeard asked

"And what are you supposed to be Sheriff? Some kind of nobleman or literary figure? Am I to start calling you Lord Wolf!?

Bluebeard smugly grinned at his mockery, Bigby would usually reply with something gruff but instead he just took a final drag of his pipe and blew it into Bluebeard's face, returning the pipe to the inside of his cloak, Bigby then pulled out 2 pill-shaped capsules from his pocket, put them in his mouth and crunched them in his teeth; Bluebeard's expression grew more confused when thick blood-like liquid began oozing from Bigby's mouth, his expression of shock was then shared by the rest of the crowd when Bigby's eyes turned red and he flashed his now wolf-like blood-covered teeth at Bluebeard; moving closer to him Bluebeard took a couple of short steps back and gulped before Bigby spoke.

"Count technically, although Lord Wolf has a nice ring to it, I am a son of the North Wind after all and he is the King of the North so maybe I should be awarded a title for my many years of service"

The crowd chuckled very quietly before Bigby continued.

"It's my own take on Count Dracula, you know the vampire of legend, hence the blood"

Bluebeard simply turned away with a huff, clearly defeated in his attempt to single out Bigby's choice of outfit.

The crowd dissipated to doing other things as Bigby went over to one of the tables and removed his cane and sword from his outfit and laid them out to be collected later, he turned around to see Snow standing behind him with a sweet smile on her face, that smile always made him brighten up inside; apparently lost in a trance Bigby was roused back to reality with Snow's words.

"What's the blood made of?"

Bigby quickly replied with a slight shake of his head "It's a recipe I learned a while back to help recreate violent murder scenes, it's just corn syrup mixed with food dye, not really my thing taste wise but it mimics blood pretty well"

Snow just smiled and continued talking about various other work-related things; she only ever seemed to talk about work, never anything personal but that was Snow, she was the tightest lipped person in Fabletown and everyone knew it.

As the night continued on Bigby was trying his best to be a socialite, although it was clear from the get go that he was somewhat forcing his attempts at talking to people; 5 times in 1 hour Bigby would step outside onto the balcony and continue smoking his pipe, the thickness of the smoke deadened his senses to almost nothing but the effect wouldn't last for more than a few minutes. He was joined on his 6th outing by Snow, who mimicked Bigby by leaning up against the edge of the balcony, after a brief silence she spoke.

"So why did you come tonight of all nights?"

"I wanted to impress people, you especially, loosen up, the usual..." He eyed her up and down "You look really beautiful Snow"

Snow couldn't help the blush that crept to her face but remained consistent nonetheless "Thank you Sheriff, you don't look too bad yourself"

Snow flashed a playful smile which Bigby mimicked with a low chuckle; "_Yeah, tonight is gonna be a good one"_ he thought to himself.

Next time: Bigby and Snow discover a revelation


	2. Fancy Dress part 2

**Fancy Dress part 2 – The Truth comes out**

As the night wore on the Fables gradually got more tired and more drunk; when the dancing started Bigby had asked Snow out onto the dance floor after spending a fairly long time smoking on the balcony; this was certainly a surprise to everyone but to Snow especially, Charming was trying to convince her to dance with him until Bigby had come up behind him, tapped him on the shoulder and then whispered something into his ear that made him leave immediately to elsewhere in the room.

Apparently trying to make some sort of effort, Bigby took Snow's hand into his own with confidence.

"Would you care for a dance Miss White?"

What the hell was going on!? First Bigby shows up to the party on time, his outfit is amazing, he kept his cool and now he was asking Snow for a dance, something was telling Snow that Bigby's charade was much more for her benefit than anyone else's but she went along with it regardless, to tell the truth she was very intrigued by his sudden advances.

Going out into the middle of the floor, Bigby very awkwardly placed his other hand on Snow's hip as she rested her own on his shoulder, then the revelation came:

"Umm, Snow how do you do this?"

Snow was taken aback by what Bigby had said but convinced herself to drag it out; thinking that ruining his performance would change him for the rest of the night.

"Fine, grip more tightly here but not too tight and follow my lead. Without watching your feet please"

It was awkward at first as Bigby kept rather clumsily stepping on Snow's feet and occasionally looked down at his own to rectify the problem.

"Bigby stop looking at my feet, it's like your excuse to look down my dress"

He smiled a smug smile and replied "Well with an outfit like this, what else am I meant to look at?"

Snow was not impressed by his comment and she very sternly replied "Sheriff, if you don't stop looking at your feet then we're done here"

Bigby took the hint and only looked at his feet twice again before finally getting a hang of the basics of Waltz; he had always been a quick learner and he was trying his best to impress Snow.

That was the reason he had come after all, he had decided that tonight was the night he would tell Snow how he felt about her and then go from there with whatever reply she gave him, for better or worse he just couldn't keep it bottled up any longer...

When the dancing ended, the punch bowls came out and everyone was drinking it like it was water; unbeknownst to everyone else however, Jack and Rose had snuck into the back whilst the dancing was going on and had spiked the punch so that it became extremely alcoholic and still tasted delicious; the effects were apparent within minutes.

People were stumbling about and falling over and the two perpetrators were laughing their asses off at it.

Around 11pm Bigby had collected his belongings and left to go to sleep, he had a long number of weeks or even months ahead of him that involved rooting out the rest of the Crooked Man's operation.

When he reached the elevator he got inside and quickly held the door open for someone else, that some else was Snow White. Thanking Bigby for holding the door Snow pressed the button for her floor and stood there with him in silence, the silence was so awkward that you could cut it with a knife, both Fables wanted to say something to the other but couldn't bring themselves to do so.

The elevator stopped suddenly on Snow's floor and the doors opened, before walking out of the elevator Snow turned back and bridged the gap between herself and Bigby.

"Thank you for tonight Bigby, it was... very sweet of you"

She finished her sentence with a brief but affectionate kiss to the corner of Bigby's mouth. That was it, he couldn't stand there and do nothing; as Snow turned to walk out Bigby quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her around towards him, he closed his mouth around her own and began kissing Snow with passion, it was very short lived however as Snow refused the kiss and shoved Bigby away, slapping him and staring intently with pure anger, she folded her arms and spoke.

"Sheriff Wolf you are going to explain your actions immediately and truthfully before you leave this elevator or else you can leave Fabletown for good!" Bigby looked back at Snow like a dog that had been struck by its previously faithful master, he was lightly rubbing his cheek from where Snow had slapped him and it sure did sting, but the pain was more emotional than physical; scratching the back of his head he stammered and murmured gibberish before finally composing himself, with a defeated look on his face Bigby finally let it all out "You wanna know why I did that? It's because I love you Snow!"

Snow's face then filled with surprise as Bigby continued.

"I have loved you ever since I met you in those woods centuries ago back in the Homelands, you were the most beautiful human I had ever seen, I admired your independence and your spirit and your scent was intoxicating to me from then on and I don't care what you say about it because you will always be mine to lose whether you like it or not! I care for you in ways that you are clearly too blind to notice or else we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. I know I'm the 'mangy old monster' that everyone hates, but I reformed myself for you Snow! I wanted to be the one thing that you deserved most in life, be it man or beast! I have looked out for you for centuries now and even though you rarely appreciate it in the slightest, I don't care because that's what I will continue to do until the day I die for the simple reason that I am completely in love with you!

Snow then began to fill with regret; she hadn't expected Bigby to reveal this much to her. Sure she had had some feelings for him for decades now but she had kept them hidden for fear she would become hurt again if she got close to him, but now she felt like the biggest bitch on Earth.

This was Bigby Wolf! The one person who ever gave a damn about her and had cared for her since day 1 of becoming Sheriff, he had always made sure she was okay and was always trying to help and please her no matter what and every time she would push him away and keep herself at arm's length.

Lost in her thoughts Snow snapped back to reality in time to hear Bigby finish his loving confession.

"Now you know the truth"

Before she could say anything Bigby raised a firm hand and continued.

"I already know what you're going to say Snow and I'm prepared for it, you'll find my letter of resignation on your desk in the morning, my office and apartment will be cleared out and I will be gone; I was stupid to think I could spend the rest of my life with you and I want to save you the embarrassment by removing myself from your life in return. Goodbye Snow".

**Next time: Bigby and Snow seal the deal (next chapter is full of smut and fluff from start to finish just so you know)**


	3. Lovers part 1

**Lovers part 1 – The Night**

Bigby was about to walk out of the elevator before Snow put both her hands on his chest and held him there, she looked up to reveal her face full of sadness and she was starting to cry.

Although confused at first Bigby realised his error when Snow rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around him as though he was going to disappear at any moment, she buried her face into him and muffled her sobbing whilst her tears seeped into his tunic; putting his arms around her slowly, Snow relaxed into his embrace before looking into his eyes sniffling.

"Don't leave! If you go then I'm going with you; you're the only person in this town I trust and I wouldn't feel right without you around; damn it Bigby I love you too!"

The words practically fell from her mouth; Bigby's surprised look then turned to one of affection as he moved his hands and cupped Snow's face, wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

"I'm not leaving you ever" he said in a low voice and now only inches away from her face. Snow couldn't contain herself any longer, she had come to the realization that she was in love with Bigby and that was all she needed. She threw herself at Bigby so hard he stumbled against the back of the elevator and the two were locked in a passionate kiss which deepened and intensified with every passing second.

The kiss was filled with centuries of repressed love, want and care; Bigby and Snow were meant for each other and they were mentally kicking themselves for not acting on their feelings decades, maybe even a century, ago. The intensity of their kiss continued to deepen in passion and lust until it was no longer possible for it to deepen anymore.

The couple awkwardly shifted towards the now closed elevator doors and Bigby pressed the open button, picking up Snow bridal style without breaking the kiss and carried her down to her apartment at which point the two reluctantly broke away for Snow to unlock her door.

Quickly getting inside, Snow locked the door again and took the break as an opportunity to remove her boots; in the time it took her to do that Bigby had thrown off everything else and was left in just his shirt and slacks.

Reigniting the kiss, Bigby picked up Snow by wrapping his arms around her lower back, her feet dangling mere inches off the ground and carried her towards her bedroom, stopping in front of her queen-size bed lined with cool silk sheets.

The couple collapsed slowly onto the soft mattress, even though Bigby was on top he was surprisingly plush in spite of his hard physique; Bigby and Snow's hands were lost in each other's hair, stroking and ruffling it as their hungry kiss continued for the longest time. Reluctantly pulling away from the kiss once again, Snow began to nibble on Bigby's lower lip in retaliation as his hands moved slowly up and down her sides.

Pulling themselves back up to their feet, Snow threw off Bigby's shirt and began tracing his torso with her fingertips; his hair was thick and his muscles were toned and hard but his skin was soft and warm to the touch; Snow remembered back to when she saw Bigby's bare torso in the Business Office after Lily's funeral and how she tried so hard not to marvel at its perfection, but now her secret little fantasy was becoming a reality.

As she was exploring his torso with her hands, Bigby slowly trailed his own from Snow's sides along her back until they found the lace of her corset; he pulled the lace knot apart like it was nothing and with a little help on Snow's part the dress fell to the floor in a heap leaving her standing exposed to Bigby's eyes for the first time. She was only wearing black lacy panties and from his senses, Bigby could tell she was getting aroused.

Bigby had only imagined what Snow looked like naked, but seeing her now was like being in a dream; her body was sheer perfection as he had guessed: her skin was soft like silk, slightly cool to the touch and pale as snow, she was slim but with plump breasts, rounded buttocks and an hourglass physique; and to top it all off she was glistening slightly with sweat and breathing heavily in anticipation of what was to come next.

The couple switched positions and Snow playfully shoved Bigby back onto the bed before pulling down his slacks and tossing them behind her, breasts jiggling as she did so; his manhood was poking evidently through his grey briefs and Snow left nothing to her imagination, climbing back onto Bigby she buried her chest in his face feeling his light stubble tickling and scratching whilst his mouth and tongue went to work on her plump and silky breasts; they were so soft and Bigby soon discovered their sensitivity when his hands trailed up her stomach to meet them and he began pawing and groping them with his rough fingers.

Taking one nipple in his mouth and caressing the other, Snow couldn't hold back her whimpering moans as Bigby went to work on them. Feeling the nipple getting harder, Bigby pulled away with a pucker and switched over to the other breast, not wanting to leave anything unsatisfied.

As he was doing this Snow's hand had trailed down to his briefs and was rubbing his hardness through them with her slender fingers, he gasped at her touch and she stroked a little faster in response.

Snow pulled her chest away from Bigby's face and crept down lower and lower until her face was level with his crotch; pulling down his briefs, Bigby's erect member sprung free and Snow's jaw hung open at the sight of it, it was so big and hard she was afraid that it would be too much for her; she had always assumed that it would be big, bigger than Charming's at least, but this was something else!

Leaving everything down to fate she gripped Bigby and began to stroke him slowly, his face pulled an expression torn between pleasure and frustration and noticing this, Snow placed her mouth around him and swirled her tongue around his tip before somehow going down all the way; feeling his tip touching the back of her throat made Bigby gasp again in surprise, this was a whole new feeling to him but he could easily get used to it.

She continued sucking him with progressive speed like a lollipop and Bigby moved a hand to Snow's head to guide her up and down quicker and harder until he finally released his load inside of her, she gagged slightly as it hit the back of her throat but she gulped it down with satisfaction nonetheless.

She looked up at Bigby to see his face full of determination, he quickly grabbed Snow by the shoulders and flipped her onto her back and crawled on top of her; there was an animalistic look in Bigby's eyes and Snow's expression was now torn between fear and want, Bigby noticed this and cupped her cheek with one hand as he placed a soft kiss to Snow's nose. She relaxed at the gesture and became less fearful of what was to come.

They reignited their kiss and their tongues clashed and danced, exploring every inch and crevasse of each other's mouths as Bigby began to tease Snow's covered parts with his fingertips; Snow began to moan uncontrollably at the feeling, she wasn't used to any kind of foreplay in the past but Bigby was looking to please her and in turn that pleased him more.

He could feel her panties getting wet and her scent was now full of pure arousal and excitement. Bigby pulled away from the inviting wetness of Snow's mouth and crept down her body, trailing his lips across her skin as he did so, before sinking his teeth into the hem of Snow's panties and pulling them all the way off her legs, trailing his hands down her torso to her intimacy as he removed them and tracing his fingers around the trimmed patch of hair that was covering Snow's modesty, causing her to groan in protest at his teasing.

Glancing up to Snow for approval, she nodded with haste and Bigby slowly eased two fingers into her slit and began to rub and tease the tight flesh inside; Snow's moaning became louder and her breathing ragged as Bigby placed his free hand to her stomach to help steady her writhing.

Snow was dripping wet now as Bigby teased her clit with the tip of his tongue; again glancing up to Snow for approval she nodded with half lidded eyes and Bigby pulled his fingers out and began licking away at her wet lips like a thirsty dog, he was intent on lapping up her juices but he knew that they wouldn't stop flowing; Snow had her hands in fists in Bigby's hair, trying to push his head away and pull it in close all at once for how amazing it felt; she came hard with a strangled moan and her body convulsed with orgasm.

Bigby looked up into Snow's eyes; seeing them full of ecstasy he was sure he looked the same. Crawling onto her again with his member poking her wet centre ever so slightly as they reconnected their lustful kiss from earlier, they could taste the fluids from their previous acts now but it only served to increase their arousal.

Bigby gripped himself in one hand and with a final look to Snow for approval, he entered her slowly. She tensed up and winced at the combination of pleasure and pain, wrapping her arms tightly around Bigby's neck to help ease the feeling. It was true that Snow was no blushing virgin but centuries of loneliness had taken their toll on her; Bigby sensed her pain and stopped.

"Snow if this hurts, please don't force it"

Snow crashed her mouth to Bigby's and murmured what sounded like a "Don't stop" into it, she suddenly pulled away and with a seductive lick of her lips she started licking slowly at the dried corn syrup around Bigby's mouth and chin and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. The syrup tasted sweet but had an underlying flavour of tobacco and bourbon, but Snow treasured the flavour that distinctly belonged to Bigby and it calmed her in an instant.

As he continued to ease himself all the way into her, Bigby imagined Snow as a she-wolf licking the blood from his muzzle after a kill and took it as her full acceptance for him to continue, with a low growl he slowly pulled out and then thrust back into her with speed, repeating his action over and over until the two found a steady rhythm as Bigby filled her to the brink each time.

The couple looked into each other's eyes lovingly as Bigby continued to thrust into her, Snow bucked wildly underneath him and her arousal was growing to new heights and she could feel herself reaching her peak again.

Suddenly Snow rolled Bigby over with little protest and began to ride him hard and fast like a woman possessed and panting like a bitch in heat; her eyes were half shut and her hands raised his own from her hips to knead and caress her chest like he had done previously; with her moaning turning into gasping, Bigby himself became breathless as the two of them reached their peak and came at the same time, Bigby let out a series of loud gasps as he released while Snow ended up letting out a very loud scream of pleasure to the ceiling that was definitely heard by everyone in the Woodlands.

Most would assume it was a faked scream to make Bigby feel like he had done well, but Bigby wasn't a normal man and his senses told him that Snow's scream of pleasure was very real.

Snow collapsed onto Bigby in a heap of sweat and heavy breaths, as she flopped to his side their arms found their way around each other and their legs tangled together, pulling their bodies close as they lay on the bed, both too tired to get underneath the covers and thus generating their own warmth.

With her head resting in the crook of his shoulder and his chin resting on the top of her head, Snow placed a few soft kisses into Bigby's neck as he inhaled her scent and the pair murmured sweet nothings into each other's ears until they drifted off, words that made them both feel truly appreciated.

The couple didn't take long to fall asleep afterwards, but there was one lingering question on both of their minds before they did: How would they explain the screaming?

**Sorry if this isn't everyone's cup of tea...**

**Next time: Snow has a nightmare and she and Bigby come to a final understanding**


	4. Lovers part 2

**Lovers part 2 – The Morning After**

She could see him there, sitting in his ratty blue chair in his apartment, staring at the floor. She was standing all around him; a countless number of Snow White's all looking at the darkened figure of Bigby Wolf, all of them angry and all of them yelling at him.

"I can take care of myself!"

"I don't love you Bigby Wolf!"

"I hate you!"

"I don't need you to look after me!"

"Why don't you go back to the Homelands where you can die!"

"I'm not yours to lose!" Snow shuddered awake at the sound of her own voice yelling; "_It's ok, it wasn't real, it was just a dream... no... it was a nightmare."_

Snow shifted herself enough to look over Bigby's shoulder at the alarm clock on her bedside table, 5:01am, great, she had about an hour left to sleep before she had to get up and get ready for work.

It was then she realised why the nightmare had woken her; looking peaceful, years younger than usual and merely centimetres away from her face was Bigby Wolf, the man who had only last night revealed to Snow that he had loved her since the first hour they met and through a deeply moving confession and a night of passionate love making had made her realise the error of her ways and cause her to admit that she had loved him as well for the longest time.

Snow felt something on her cheek and wiped at it with her hand, it was a tear; a singular tear that turned to more as she felt her eyes become watery and she began sniffling; as her crying continued, Snow pulled herself away from Bigby's warm and tender embrace and buried her face into her pillow to contain her sobbing, but it didn't help though as Bigby stirred at the muffled sounds and then awoke to the scent of her tears and sadness, he looked at Snow to see her hiding from him in shame.

"Snow, what's wrong?"

Bigby's concerned voice alerted Snow and she relaxed a little at the feel of his hand rubbing her back as a means to comfort her, she turned her head to face him and noticed his concern.

"Why me, Bigby?"

Snow's words tumbled from her mouth and served to increase Bigby's confusion more than anything; she turned back onto her side to stare into his friendly brown eyes better, Bigby then spoke:

"What do you mean Snow? You know why already-"

Snow cut Bigby off by shaking her head and wiping more tears from her pale cheeks.

"I don't mean that. I-I'm a tainted person Bigby! For 6 years I was raped and abused by seven evil dwarves for their own sick pleasure, my less-than-a-year-long marriage to Charming ended in him and my sister betraying me and I have been cold and mean to you every time one of us got to close to the other, why do you still love me knowing all of this?"

Bigby pulled a half smile and started stroking Snow's cheek, casually wiping away her tears with his thumb but she pulled away and turned her back on him, he could hear her sobbing continue and embraced her from behind, pulling her close to him as his large hands stroked her stomach and he kissed the back of her head slowly and breathing her in before moving to her neck.

She accepted the offer of comfort and placed her hands over Bigby's and melded against his body, she had never felt so safe and secure in her life; her moment turned more pleasant as Bigby began to kiss the skin beneath her ear and she tilted her head to give him a better angle, though she was still sniffling.

In amongst the intimacy, Bigby pressed his lips against Snow's ear and whispered softly.

"Because you are just as stubborn and full of pig-headed stupidity as me-" He received a light elbow to the gut for that but she was smiling regardless.

"And because you are a survivor; you never gave up Snow, you fought through it all and came out the other side swinging, I admire you for your beauty and your personality, but I love you for your courage, for the fire that drives you on the inside. Plus you were the only Fable to ever give a damn about me when I first arrived here and over the centuries you were the only person I ever truly grew close to. The reason why I know where you are all the time and what mood or condition you're in through your scent is because you are my mate, my one true love; you became my mission and now you are my existence."

Snow turned around to face Bigby again and had never felt as loved and content as she was right now; Bigby re-wrapped his arms around Snow's back and pulled her on top of him, melding their naked bodies against each other and touching foreheads, their eyes closed.

"I love you Snow White, always have and always will, nothing will ever change that and I will NEVER leave you"

Bigby closed his mouth around Snow's and she responded in kind; their tongues dancing passionately as they relayed every ounce of love and forgiveness into each other, her hands tangling in his hair.

"I love you too, Bigby"

Snow finally managed to breath out her words before the couple slowly fell back into a peaceful slumber. Snow didn't have that nightmare ever again.

The alarm clock went off at 6am and was quickly silenced with a thump from Bigby's fist as he reached over to get to it, moving Snow from being on top of him to being on her side as he sat up onto the edge of the bed.

Lifting himself from the bed, Bigby quickly slipped on his extravagant outfit from last night; Snow woke to the lack of heat and left the bed as well, donning a grey bath robe that had been hanging from her bathroom door and walked over to Bigby; she wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and rested her head on his back as he replaced his hat to his head.

"Won't you stay for breakfast?" Snow asked as Bigby turned around in her arms and looked into her eyes lovingly, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Sorry Snow, I don't think its best if I stay too long or people will put two-and-two together"

Snow looked at Bigby with understanding and nodded "I get it, but you were so perfect last night and this morning that I want to make it up to you"

Bigby cupped Snow's cheek and stroked it with his thumb "You don't have to do anything for me Snow, you did everything you had to by simply returning my affections"

Snow leaned into his touch and closed her eyes "I never expected last night to be so... wonderful; in the past I was made sore and bruised by the dwarves most nights and Charming only ever pleased himself but at least it was better than being rough-housed"

Bigby pulled Snow into his chest and stroked the back of her head "I've always looked out for you Snow and I promise I will never hurt you like everyone else has"

Snow felt overwhelmed in Bigby's presence "I know you won't, that's why I love you; but won't you at least stay a bit longer?"

Bigby pulled away chuckling "Snow you have quite a reputation in Fabletown, if people discover that you and me went from being colleagues to lovers in one night then the rumours that follow will ruin us both!"

Realization hit Snow like a punch in the face and she nodded her concurrence "Ok, so what do we do now?"

Bigby gripped her shoulders tenderly "We keep things professional, in public at least. Tell you what, we'll give people an idea of something between us on Friday; I'm taking you out to dinner."

Snow pulled a mischievous smile "Are you asking me out on a date Mr Wolf?"

Bigby pulled a wolfish grin in response "Subtle wasn't I?"

Snow leaned in to place a longing kiss to Bigby's lips before they retracted from each other, albeit with reluctance. Before he could leave, Snow quickly tapped Bigby on the shoulder and turning around his eyes widened in surprise at what was in her hand, it was a key.

"What's this for?" Bigby's confusion was evident on his face and in his voice.

"It's the spare key to my apartment; you know in case you, um, need anything from here or from... me" Snow looked a little embarrassed after finishing her sentence, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear out of habit. Bigby just smiled before pocketing the key and kissing Snow on the cheek.

"Thank you" With those words Bigby turned and finally left Snow's apartment, closing the door quietly behind him; Snow then headed towards her bathroom, unable to stop the joyous smile that was gracing her face; it was Tuesday and in 3 days time she would be going on a date with the Big Bad Wolf... the new love of her life.

**Next time: Bigby recieves new info on a Fable he thought was dead**


	5. All In A Days Work part 1

**All in a day's work part 1 – A new assignment**

Bigby walked back to the elevator and went down to his floor, he wasn't surprised at all at the sight that he was greeted with: previously drunk but now fast asleep Fables littered the hall to the Business Office as he carefully stepped around and in between them so as not to disturb or hurt anyone; Pinocchio was sleeping up against the exterior wall of Bigby's apartment and looked as though he had knocked himself out, or maybe someone did it for him judging by the evident mark on his head.

Going into his apartment Bigby quickly threw off his attire and replaced it into his wardrobe located in his never-used bedroom before jumping into his meagre shower that only ever gave out lukewarm water at a steady speed; maybe he should've stayed at Snow's for a bit longer, at least her shower would've been hot and enjoyable, "_And in more ways than one" _he thought with a grin.

Stepping out of the shower with a towel around his waist, Bigby made sure to check himself over in his bathroom mirror, careful to look for anything that might suggest he was with someone last night. Heaving a sigh of relief after finding no trace whatsoever of his night with Snow, Bigby strolled into his kitchen and opened his fridge expecting to find something to eat, but was greeted with nothing but packs of Huff n' Puff cigarettes and a single bottle of ketchup instead.

Groaning at the lack of food, Bigby didn't even bother trying to wake Colin from his slumber on Bigby's chair, he could smell traces of food and alcohol on the pig's breath and was definitely going to make him pay for this. Colin had escaped from the Farm three weeks prior and was once again squatting in Bigby's apartment doing as he pleased within and it was driving Bigby insane; it wasn't that he hated Colin, far from it, he would even call Colin a friend but when the pig ate all his food and drank all his alcohol, that pissed him over the edge in more ways than one.

Changing into his usual work attire, Bigby left his apartment feeling more frustrated than usual and manoeuvred his way towards his office. Upon getting to the door he noticed one particular Fable woman laying on the ground shivering, it was Cinderella, his best operative and the only other person he trusted more than himself or Snow; she had clearly gone out into the Mundy after the party as she had changed into a dark red dress that barely came down to her thighs, had done her hair back into a ponytail, was wearing a very expensive looking pair of 3 inch heels that were likely from her store and was dolled up with red lipstick and blue eye liner.

Scooping her up into his arms, Cindy snuggled up against Bigby with the sudden wave of heat that he was emanating and she began to stir slightly; heading into his office Bigby sat down on his chair and continued to hold Cindy as a means of warming her up, it certainly didn't take long for her shivering to stop but she still wasn't waking up. Reaching for his desk drawer, Bigby pulled out a half empty bottle of scotch which he had owned for nearly 5 years to the day, unscrewing the cap he took a good long swig of it before holding it under Cindy's nose, she winced and gagged at the smell of it and slowly opened her eyes to meet Bigby's staring back at her with amusement.

"Mmmm, hey Boss" Cindy spoke softly but was obviously tired and still a bit drunk, she shifted herself so that her head was resting against Bigby's right shoulder and her arms wrapped around his neck tightly.

"Morning sleepyhead, where'd you go last night?" Bigby stared at Cindy and was secretly eager to hear her response but his face was nonchalant the whole time.

"Rose Red managed to drag me and Briar Rose to some Mundy nightclub after the party, Briar left after some guy tried to cop a feel and Rose left with some guy on her arm not long afterwards; me? I came back here and knocked out Pinocchio when he tried to peek up my dress" Cindy chuckled at the last part and Bigby couldn't help but chuckle quietly with her.

Pinocchio was constantly trying to get with a woman in Fabletown, it didn't matter that he was over 300 years old, he still looked around 10 to everyone else and it never did him any favours, the kid wanted to lose his virginity desperately but the Blue Fairy had taken his wish of becoming a real boy a little too seriously it seemed. Whenever he got close enough to a woman he would get shunned aside because of his youthful appearance, but at least he had kissed and felt a woman, Cindy had almost very drunkenly gotten with him during one of the Remembrance Day celebrations; there was a lot of kissing and hugging but it was she who told him during that moment "Not with little boys".

"Kinda harsh don't you think?" Bigby had now rested his cheek against the top of Cindy's head and was rubbing her left arm.

"I was too drunk to care Boss" Cindy couldn't help but smile as she vaguely remembered kneeing Pinocchio in the head after catching him trying to peek up her skirt and he collided with the wall behind him, sinking to floor and falling unconscious in a drunken stupor.

Bigby then reached onto his desk for a folder titled C.M, the Sheriff had had to put his investigation on hiatus in order to deal with the new complaints that plagued him and Snow since the Crooked Man's downfall but now he had the time to deal with it in full.

Picking up the folder, he brought it to Cindy's eye level "I need you to find the Tweedle brothers and Jersey Devil." Bigby's voice was serious now and Cindy immediately stood up and took the folder from Bigby's hands; walking slowly to the chair opposite his desk she plopped herself down on it, crossing her legs and began scanning through the various notes and reports contained with the folder, albeit with half lidded eyes.

"I'll get to it then; oh by the way Jack mentioned something about Jersey skipping town, so it'll take some more time to find him" Cindy was still waking up and in an attempt to speed up the process she grabbed the scotch from the desk and took a swig of it before setting it down and trying not to think about the horrible burning sensation it started in her throat.

"Well great" Bigby's annoyance was apparent in his tone and he continued "I have to sort some things out first but in the mean time the Tweedles and Jersey are your top priority"

"Sure thing Boss, I'll get back to you when I have something" With that Cindy stood up and walked back around to Bigby before kissing him softly on the cheek "And thanks for warming me up" She shot Bigby a wink before leaving his office, her footsteps becoming quieter as she moved down the hall towards the elevator.

Bigby sparked up a cigarette before resting his feet on the desk and closing his eyes, leaning back comfortably in his chair; _"This is gonna be a fun couple of weeks"_, Bigby wasn't appreciative at the thought but at least the extra work would distract him from Snow's alluring scent.

* * *

><p>Bigby was woken suddenly by sharp rapping at his door.<p>

"Fuck. Off!"

The door opened immediately after the words left Bigby's mouth and in walked Jack; he was dressed up in jeans and a thick grey hoodie and looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Do you always greet people that way?" Jack's voice was laced with sarcasm as usual but there was a hint of fear in it as well that caught Bigby's attention.

"Jack, I could smell you from the lobby, I knew it was you" Bigby's eyes opened slowly and then instantly when he glanced at the clock hanging on his wall, it read 10:34. "Ah shit, I'm meant to be looking for people!"

Jack perked up when Bigby sat up straight in his chair "I might be able to save you some time with that but you probably won't believe me if I tell you so... look just don't hit me or arrest me for, you know, wasting your time or something like that ok"

Bigby narrowed his eyes at Jack and sparked up another cigarette "Hurry up Jack, I'm becoming impatient"

Jack took a second to compose himself before speaking "Ok, I know about what happened between you and that psycho bitch Bloody Mary at the steel mill and I know that the place has been labelled off limits by you since then; but I remembered hearing about the silver bullets that the Crooked Man's people used on you..." his voice trailed off, "So I snuck into the mill to look around for anything I could salvage".

Bigby's face took on an aggressive look "Jack if you've tampered with any evidence you'll be spending the next 20 years working at the Farm!"

Jack recoiled slightly before continuing "I didn't, I swear! But the reason I didn't is because I didn't get a chance to, you see when I got to the workbench on the second floor everything was still there, the silver, the bullets, the tools, everything was completely untouched just like you left it... But then I heard something, it sounded like distant heavy breathing but I was certain that I was the only person there."

Jack began shaking as he continued "The breathing got closer and when I turned around it stopped, but then when I turned back around SHE was standing in front of me; she screamed in my face and I bolted as fast as I could! I remember her black and red eyes, the shards of glass in her torso and..."

Jack's breathing became shaky and he paused to compose himself; this was something Bigby had never seen anyone do safe for himself: someone else had scared Jack Horner shitless.

"Ok Jack I'll go and check out the steel mill again but if you're lying to me then you'd better run to somewhere I can't get you" Bigby stood up from his chair and gestured Jack towards the door.

"Honestly Sheriff, for once I'm not lying to you; I'm not involved with the Crooked Man like that, I mean sure I worked for Jersey but I just ran his shop when he wasn't there-"

Bigby stopped Jack with a raised hand "Hang on a minute, Cindy told me earlier that Jersey had left town; is that true?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably on the spot before replying "No I lied, he and the Tweedles have spent the last 4 months holed up in a bar at the docks called The Scottish Arms, run by some dude called Nick, that's all I know"

Bigby raised an eyebrow at the statement "Who's Nick? Is he a Mundy? I don't know any Fables called Nick..."

Jack appeared to tremble when he answered "He's not a Mundy that much I know for sure, but I heard Jersey mention something about him being dangerous".

Bigby smirked at the statement "Well I'll gladly pay Nick a visit later, but right now the immediate threat is apparently at the steel mill."

Jack turned towards the door but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"So Jack, how do you know all of this?" Bigby had a sarcastic look on his face, eagerly awaiting Jack's answer.

Jack murmured before speaking "I still deliver profits from the Lucky Pawn to Jersey each month; I leave the money in an envelope at the docks and then one of the workers takes it and tells me to go"

Bigby looked confused "Jack, I catalogued everything at the Lucky Pawn and shut the place down so maybe you should lie better next time"

Jack gulped loudly "I stole Jersey's safe from the store after you dealt with the Crooked Man, he had a lot of money in it and I was gonna use it for myself; but then he shows up at my door one night and takes it, and then he threatens to make me suffer if I don't deliver money to him each month"

Bigby sighed before turning to face Jack again, sparking up yet another cigarette "Ok Jack I've heard enough, you can go now"

With that Jack hurried out the door towards the stairs without a single word and Bigby went over the new information in his head. Grabbing his trench coat from the back of his chair and picking up his wallet from his desk drawer, Bigby pulled out his seldom used bank card and made for the lobby.

* * *

><p>Going outside and away from Bullfinch Street, Bigby found a cash machine and took a moment to remember his pin and even longer to enter it as his clumsy fingers pushed multiple buttons unintentionally; eventually bringing the info up onto the screen Bigby was surprised at just how much money he possessed in his account, he took cash out at the start of each month and it easily lasted him until the end but he never really bothered to see just how much he had in his account, it was apparently around $10,000.<p>

Bigby took out $3,000 in preparation for his visit to the steel mill, he would need help this time around and he knew just the people for the job.

Heading back into the Woodlands, Bigby made his way into the Business Office to see Snow talking to Grendel and Woody; casually walking over to her desk Bigby sat on its edge just as the conversation had seemingly ended.

"I'm sorry Grendel, but I cannot enforce a restraint on the Woodsman simply because you don't like him; if he hasn't broken any laws then I am powerless to do anything" Snow glanced to Bigby and pulled a quick smile at him before returning her attention.

"This fucking lowlife ruined everything when he slept with Lily behind our backs! He keeps coming back to the Trip Trap, getting wasted and rambling about how sorry he is and we've had enough of it!"

Woody looked at Gren, his face full of sadness "Gren I'm sorry all right, I didn't want to drive you or Holly away and you're the only two people I got right now"

Gren stared back with that typical murderous face of his "Woody you fucked up and now you expect everything to just be ok!"

Bigby stood up and made himself known "Hey! Can't you two just leave the past in the past like the rest of us? Look Gren, Woody's an asshole for sleeping with Lily ok, but he's been rejected for a long time; can't you just give him a second chance?"

Gren huffed at Bigby's response and turned away "I'll think about it long and hard, Sheriff"

Woody turned back to Bigby and pulled a feint grin "Thanks Bigby"

"You're not going just yet Woody and neither are you Gren!"

Gren turned around in confusion and then wearily walked back to Snow's desk; Snow just looked on in interest with raised eyebrows.

Looking down in defeat Bigby spoke with a huff "Look, I've got to bring in someone dangerous and I might need some help"

The 3 Fables looked at the Sheriff in utter disbelief, since when did the Big Bad Wolf ask for help!?

Snow stood up and spoke first "Sheriff, who are you bringing in that could be so dangerous?"

Bigby looked up again and sighed deeply "Bloody Mary".

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: Bigby assembles an unlikely team to help him arrest Mary<strong>

**I would massively appresciate reviews for this story, it'll help me to write better in the future!**


	6. All In A Days Work part 2

**All in a day's work – Monster squad**

Woody broke the tension with a light-hearted chuckle "Bigby, you told us that Mary died by your hand or your mouth or whatever, how can she possibly be alive?"

Bigby pulled a serious look towards Woody "Jack Horner told me he saw her at the steel mill this morning and although he's probably making a bad joke about it, he looked genuinely terrified and I can't just turn away from the possibility that she's still alive".

Gren spoke next "So why do you need our help then, if you beat her once can't you just beat her again?"

Bigby stared at Gren in annoyance "Because I plan on bringing her in for questioning this time and last time..." Bigby sighed before continuing "Last time I had to go full Wolf to beat her, if I'm gonna bring her in alive this time around then I'll need to be more... controlled"

Snow's face lit up at the statement "She was that powerful?"

Bigby nodded slowly before glancing between Woody and Gren "Look, I know what I'm asking of you two and I want to make sure your compensated as a result" Bigby pulled out his wallet and flashed the dollars to Gren and Woody "I have $1,000 for both of you if you decide to come with me, this isn't so much a bribe rather a compensation for any harm you receive"

Gren remained stationary but Woody spoke up first, lifting his axe up onto his shoulder and cracking a smile "I'll help you, with or without the money"

Gren looked at Woody in surprise before sighing loudly "Alright I'll help you, but only because that bitch was working for the Crooked Man"

Gren practically snatched the money from Bigby's hand when he offered it, but Woody refused the payment entirely.

"No, I'll just spend it on drinks and we all know where that'll take me" Woody smirked at his statement.

Bigby nodded and pocketed his cash "Alright I'll meet you two downstairs in a moment, I need a private word with the Deputy Mayor first"

The two Fables left in an instant and as soon as the door closed Bigby had closed the distance between him and Snow and was holding her by her waist while her hands rested on his chest.

"Oh, what's this about Mr Wolf?" Snow's voice was soft and full of mischief and she slowly leaned in to touch her forehead to Bigby's as her arms moved around his neck.

He moved his lips to brush hers slightly before smiling "I need to use your phone"

Snow recoiled at the statement and slapped Bigby playfully on the shoulder before pulling away and returning to the papers littering her desk.

"Of course you can, Sheriff" She tried to sound annoyed but Bigby could tell it was forced.

Sitting back down on the front of her desk, Bigby picked up the phone and dialled in a particular number

After 3 rings someone picked up "Hello?" the voice sounded soft, feminine and very tired, it was Beauty.

"Hey Beauty, its Bigby, is Beast there?"

"Uh yeah, I'll get him for you..."

After a brief wait the phone was picked up again "Hey Bigby, what's up?"

Beast sounded tired as well but his voice contained surprise, it was to be expected though, Bigby didn't call people, they called him.

"Can you come down to the Business Office? I need to ask you something and its important..."

"Uh sure ok, I'll be down in 10 minutes" Beast hung up and true to his word was through the door to the Business Office within the 10 minute mark.

Bigby explained the situation to Beast and offered him the cash "This is $2,000 of my own money; I know you and Beauty are having rent problems but I'm not a loan shark, if you agree to help me you get the money, no strings attached"

Beast took a moment to consider his options before relenting "Alright I'll help you, we really need the money and to be honest I haven't been working for over a week now, a change of scenery would be nice I guess"

Bigby nodded his concurrence "Alright meet Gren and Woody down in the lobby and I'll be there shortly"

As Beast turned to leave Bigby picked up the phone again and dialled in another number, this time it picked up on the first ring "Hello?" Another soft feminine voice answered but it had authority in it as well.

"Cindy it's Bigby; I need you to drive me and 3 other Fables down to Shepherd Metalwork's, this is important and needs to be taken seriously"

"Sure Boss, I'll be round in 5" The phone clicked and Bigby set it down again.

Snow looked up at Bigby in confusion and answered when he set down the phone "Why did you call Cinderella?"

Bigby turned back with a grin "I'll tell you everything on Friday night, princess"

Snow didn't look amused but her scent betrayed her entirely; it reeked of excitement.

As Bigby walked towards the door of the Business Office, he felt Snow grab his hand; he turned around to see her smiling "Bigby, be careful, please?"

Bigby kissed Snow on the forehead "I will"

He turned and left and Snow returned to her desk grinning, she felt like a hormonal teenager with all the joy and excitement that she was experiencing from being in love again and especially with someone who made her so happy in the first place. She heard the fluttering of wings behind her and noticed Bufkin trying very poorly to hide behind a table.

"Bufkin!"

Bufkin appeared from behind the table with a sheepish look on his face "Hello Miss Snow, what uh, what can I do for you?"

Snow didn't look impressed with Bufkin's response and spoke with a cautionary tone "What did you see Bufkin?"

Bufkin looked down in embarrassment before speaking at a whisper "You and Mr Bigby, um, kissing..."

Snow put her hand to her forehead and sighed, she and Bigby wanted to keep things quiet for now. "Bufkin, this will remain a secret until I say it isn't, am I clear?"

Bufkin nodded "Of course Miss Snow, but if it's all the same to you, I actually like the fact that you two are together now, you both seem to be in much better moods around each other after all. By the way the, uh, the screaming last night... that was, um, you right?"

Snow looked on at Bufkin in shock, "_So people did hear it then..."_ she brought herself away from her thoughts and spoke with as much authority as she could muster in her moment of embarrassment "Yes Bufkin, it was me and Mr Wolf, now can you please try and forget that detail and get back to doing whatever it was you were going to do today?"

Bufkin nodded quickly and flew off without a word as Snow returned to the papers on her desk once more, her mind trying hard not to think about the night she spent with Bigby Wolf.

* * *

><p>Bigby made his down to the lobby to find Woody, Gren and Beast quietly discussing what they were about to do.<p>

"If you guys are ready then let's go" Bigby walked straight through the middle of the 3 men and they awkwardly followed behind as Bigby opened the Woodlands doors and stepped outside.

The cool November breeze was rather welcoming to Bigby; the cold didn't bother him even as a human but he had thrown on his signature trench coat to keep up appearances. Woody was wearing a puffy blue fleece and Gren was in a red winter jacket, Beast however was wearing a rather expensive looking brown leather Bomber jacket.

"Thought you were having money troubles?" Gren perked up at the sight of the jacket, causing Beast to look down in embarrassment.

"It was on sale" Beast's voice was barely a whisper but everyone heard it nonetheless, causing the other 3 to chuckle quietly.

The 4 men stepped through the front gate before waiting on the sidewalk; not even a minute into standing still, a black SUV with tinted windows had pulled up with Cindy at the wheel wearing a puffy white winter coat with a fur-lined hood.

"You boys need a ride to Shepherd Metalwork's?" Cindy's voice was laced with mischief; all but Bigby were staring at her in confusion.

"Thanks for doing this Cindy" Bigby spoke as he got into the passenger seat; Woody, Gren and Beast all moved into the back seats and sat in silence, not quite understanding why Cindy was driving them.

"Ok, since when does Cinderella drive for the Sheriff?" Gren spoke first and was met with a look from Cindy in the rear-view mirror.

"Since the Sheriff here caught the thieves that broke into my store 2 years ago" Cindy smirked at her well-concocted lie; she would never reveal to anyone that she worked for Bigby unless she was allowed to; although in reality her shop had been robbed she had found the thieves all by herself...

"He helped me out big time and I said I would repay him at some point"

The drive down to the steel mill was long and tedious; it was lunch time and there was already traffic on the roads. In the car Cindy was drumming her fingers away at the wheel impatiently whilst Bigby was puffing on a cigarette; Beast, Gren and Woody just sat in the back minding their own business. Cindy noticed the awkwardness and turned on the radio, it instantly started playing 'A horse with no name' by America.

"Oh, I love this song" Cindy was genuinely happy as she turned up the volume and started to drum against the steering wheel in time with the beat.

Bigby shot her a glance before sighing and began to tap his foot to the beat without thinking, he wasn't much into music but if he liked a song then he would make it known.

After a while Beast and Woody had begun to nod their heads to the song, while Gren remained stationary the whole time.

About halfway through the song at the 2nd chorus Cindy and Beast were already cheerily singing along and had to stifle her surprise when Bigby, albeit quietly, joined in.

"See I've been through the desert on a horse with no name, it felt good to be out of the rain. In the desert, you can remember your name, 'cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain."

Woody had whistled all the way through and Gren's face had twisted into a combination of annoyance and general frustration.

Woody spoke up "C'mon Gren, what's wrong with you now?"

Gren slowly turned his head and looked Woody in the eye with murderous intent "I fuckin' HATE this song"

When the song ended Beast shifted and spoke towards Bigby "Did you hear the screaming last night? It sounded like someone was getting the best sex of their lives..."

Bigby pulled a look of confusion but deep down he was jumping for joy at the comment 'best sex of their lives'. He would be wagging up a storm if he was a wolf right now.

"No... I had to deal with something after the party so I didn't hear it. I wasn't even in the Woodland's"

Beast leaned back into the seat "It kinda sounded like Snow White and it was pretty loud."

Bigby had to put on a fake air of sorrow at the comment "Oh really... Well, congratulations to her then..."

Woody leaned forward and patted Bigby on the shoulder sympathetically "Sorry Bigby, we all know how much you like Snow but I guess someone else beat you to it."

Bigby shrugged off Woody's hand and remained distant "Yeah, well I hope she's happy now..."

It almost pained Bigby to act like this, right now he wanted to rub his accomplishment in everyone's faces; no one knew that HE was the one with Snow last night!

An hour later they had arrived at the steel mill.

"Ok, you guys wait here for a bit, I need to talk to Cindy privately" Bigby pointed at the 3 with his almost burnt out cigarette as he spoke before popping back into the car and shutting the door.

"Ok Cindy, Jack told me that the Tweedles and Jersey are holed up at some bar at the docks called The Scottish Arms; it's owned by some guy called Nick and apparently he's like us. I need you to go down there and find out what you can."

"Sure Boss, I'll get to work as soon as we're done here. By the way I liked your singing." Cindy flashed a grin and stroked Bigby's cheek with the back of her fingers.

"You tell anyone I can sing and you'll be doing the rest of this operation by yourself" Bigby looked at Cindy sternly; she got the message but deep down she knew he was joking, at least she hoped he was.

"Keep the car running and we'll be back whenever, this hopefully won't take long."

Bigby shut the door to the car and walked up to the entrance with the others; compared to them Beast was nervous, he could certainly handle himself in his human form but he wasn't as experienced or vicious as he knew the others were when it came to fighting.

The group entered into the middle of the mill on the ground floor and were met with a true sight to see; a sight that Bigby had hoped was long dead...

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: A fight happens and Bigby pays a dear price for it...<strong>


	7. Bloody Mary part 1

**Bloody Mary – Getting things done**

The 'thing' in the middle of the room was a very ornately posed statue made of glass, except that it was Bloody Mary in her true form posing like a ballet dancer. Bigby angrily stormed over to the statue and kicked it hard in its stomach, causing the statue to shatter to the floor in pieces.

A girly chuckle was heard all around the building, it was coming from the shadows and it was definitely Mary's voice "Hello Wolfie, did you miss me?"

Bigby had already changed into his 2nd form, his claws were sharpening, his hair was thicker and his eyes were yellow "Where are you!"

As the 4 men all looked around for any sight of the woman, Gren had removed his glamour and Beast had managed to shift into as beastly a form as he could muster: small horns on his head, red eyes, thicker hair and claws were about as good as it was going to get, if only he could control his curse properly...

Woody had his axe raised and was scanning the shadows for any sudden movement; suddenly he caught something red glowing "I think I've found her" he spoke with growl.

Beast spoke up "Me too"

Gren then spoke for everyone "She's surrounding us"

It was true; from the shadows emerged 7 Mary clones, all snarling and glowing red as they stalked their way across the room towards the 4 Fables in the centre, the sound of glass cracking and breaking with each step they took was enough to make a man shiver in fear.

Bigby had taken in what the others were saying but he had been staring at a particular shadow in the room for some time now, he didn't know if she knew he could see her clear as day but he couldn't care less. Leaning casually against the wall was the real Bloody Mary, in her human form with that signature psychotic smile plastered to her delicate looking face.

"Mary, come on out and face me!" With that, Mary walked out of the shadows and into the light; she looked terrible: her hair had grown a few more inches since he had last seen her but she still had her red bangs, she was wearing a ripped white t-shirt with a red bra visible through the tears, her pants and boots were ripped and torn as well from the glass that graced her true form and Bigby also noticed that the majority of her index finger was missing from her right hand.

She spoke with that girly voice that distinctly belonged to her "I missed you Wolfie, but next time you should remember to get rid of the pieces before thinking that I'm dead, you just shattered me but I reformed myself not long after you left" her face grew a twisted smile as she raised her right hand and mockingly pointed her stubby finger at him "Kill them, but the Wolf is mine"

The Mary clones all lunged at the 3 Fables that weren't Bigby and the fighting began; Gren was having an easy time batting away the clones but he was far too slow to stop them from hitting him in return, Beast was trying his best to score hits against the clones attacking him but was countered at every turn by the clone he wasn't attacking, Woody was swinging his axe in the hopes it would connect but he wasn't having any luck either; the clones were just too fast for them.

Bigby lunged at Mary and was swiftly met with a punch to the face and a sharp kick to the groin, dropping him to his knees with a grunt. "Had enough?" Mary smirked at her comment but was met with a punch to the gut from Bigby as he rose up and she clutched at her stomach before standing up straight again. She threw several more punches that were effortlessly blocked or dodged by Bigby as he grabbed her wrist on the last punch and head butted her in the nose before kicking out her knee and punching her across the face, knocking her to the ground.

Beast was knocked down and a clone mounted him and tried to stab out his eyes out but he quickly grabbed its arm, ignoring the pain of the rogue shards of glass protruding from it, and ripped out its throat with his free hand, the clone shattered to pieces and Beast got to his feet before the other clone could stomp on him.

Woody tackled a clone to the floor and proceeded to repeatedly bash its head into the concrete until it broke into pieces, the other clone dugs its claws into his back and slashed at his head viciously before suddenly letting go, Woody turned around to see that Gren had thrown one of his clones into it.

Gren was covered in cuts but finally managed to pin down one of his clones before ripping it in two with his hands.

Mary had risen back up to her feet and tackled Bigby to the ground before landing a couple of punches to his face, Bigby grabbed her throat before she could land another punch and Mary instead raised up her right hand; this simple act caused Bigby's right eye to begin itching like crazy, he blinked heavily and was distracted enough for Mary to release his grip on her and then stomp him in the face while he was down, making his nose bleed.

Bigby rose back up and Mary was further away from him now, blood rushing from her nose and the slight cuts on her face; she raised her hand up again and the familiar itching turned more painful and with a sudden flick of her wrist, Bigby let out a loud cry of pain as a shard of glass erupted out from within his eyeball.

His eye was completely ruptured and spurting blood like a running tap, but he wouldn't falter; morphing into his 3rd form wouldn't help the bleeding per se, but he was pissed off now and wanted to kill Mary for what she did.

Mary sighed in relief as the shard attached itself back onto her hand as the missing finger and she began to change into her true form, apparently tired of playing games with the Wolf.

Gren had ripped the head clean off of another clone and was subject to repeated slashing from the final one he was fighting; Woody was about to help him before Beast stumbled into him after being slashed in the legs; Woody dropped his axe as a result and it was picked up by one of the clones who began charging towards the distracted Bigby.

Bigby and Mary rushed at each other and were lost in a feral display of slashing each other to ribbons before Mary ducked under Bigby's last attack and slashed his right knee, Bigby stumbled at the attack and the clone behind him had the axe raised to take his head off. Woody had rushed after the clone and jumped to grab her before she could attack, but he was a little too late. He caught the clone by the thigh as it swung and in stumbling from the attack the axe didn't take Bigby's head off, but it did slash Bigby's right thigh straight through to the bone.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion: as Bigby fell to the ground from the axe wound, Mary had rushed him and dug her clawed hand straight into his left shoulder and was forcing her way deeper in; Bigby drew back his right arm and punched Mary in the face as hard as he could muster the strength. She practically flew back to the ground with a cry but the shards were now gone from her hands; Mary looked at her hand and chuckled menacingly as new claws sprouted from the bloody mess that was her fingers, meanwhile the broken-off claws remained deep in Bigby's shoulder.

Gren had finally beaten the last of his clones into pieces and Beast had thrown his last clone into a vat of molten steel; Woody angrily threw his last clone at Gren who held her in place by the arms as Woody picked up his bloodied axe and cut the clone in two straight down the middle, shouting "That's for Bigby!" afterwards. The 3 Fables were exhausted and covered in deep bleeding cuts and painful violent bruises but they were nothing in comparison to Bigby, who was dragging himself to his feet, his eyes now glowing red with pure rage.

Mary stood where she was, apparently astounded that Bigby had the strength left in him to stand. Bigby somehow managed to close the distance between him and Mary before pinning her down with his weight as he began to repeatedly punch her in the face with his good arm. Beast went to stop him but was held back by Woody, who looked at him as if to say "Not a good idea".

Mary reverted back to her human form and her face was bloodied and beaten and Bigby was huffing in exhaustion from the conflict, he stopped punching her voluntarily and began to stand up before he suddenly went limp and fell to his side as the other 3 rushed over to him.

Woody dropped next to Bigby as he began to change back into a human form "Bigby, Bigby! Come on Wolf you can't be dead, you gonna let that bitch kill you?" Bigby was breathing but it was feint and he was gushing a collective river of blood from his eye, his shoulder and his thigh.

Gren had put his glamour back on but was still covered head to toe in cuts and bruises, he was checking Mary "Hey guess what, he let the bitch live." Mary was also breathing although it was more prominent than the short breaths of Bigby, she was unconscious for sure but Bigby looked like he was comatose.

Beast, who was very slowly turning human again, looked at Bigby with sorrow "Jesus Christ. We have to get him to Dr Swineheart! He'll die if we do nothing...".

As Gren picked up Mary, Beast and Woody picked up Bigby as carefully as they could; while Woody threw Bigby's right arm over his shoulders, Beast was holding his side to keep balance without irritating his shoulder.

They exited the Metalwork's to find Cindy leaning innocently against the still running SUV, she quickly ran over upon seeing the horrible condition Bigby was in "Oh my God, what the fuck did she do to him!"

Cindy sounded like she was panicking, and a part of her was, but Bigby had trained her well and she kept enough of her cool to be rational "We have to try and stop this bleeding now!"

As Gren threw Mary into the trunk of the car, spitting on her for good measure, Cindy and Beast removed Bigby's now ruined coat and used each sleeve as a tourniquet, one for his leg and one for his shoulder. Bigby's shirt, tie and shoes were gone and his pants were ripped but decent enough that he wouldn't have to be covered up, Woody revealed the tie to the others and they wrapped it around Bigby's eye.

None of the tourniquets stopped the bleeding but it did slow it down, the scarier part was how still and unresponsive Bigby was throughout it all...

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: Bigby sets about patching himself up; with poor consequences afterwards<strong>


	8. Bloody Mary part 2

**Bloody Mary – Healing the Wolf**

"Shit, shit, SHIT! What the fuck do we do!?" Gren was yelling at Cindy from the back of the car; he and Woody were trying to keep Bigby still while Cindy drove at just under the speed limit to reach the Knights of Malta Hospital.

"Just keep him steady, we can't risk agitating his wounds anymore!" Beast yelled from the passenger's seat and was trying to remain calm, but in truth he was scared that Bigby was going to die, hell, they all were.

Bigby was slowly regaining consciousness, he had been out for the best part of 20 minutes and already the car was back within the city limits. "Wha- what's... going on?" His voice sounded gruff and pained.

Woody brought Bigby's single-eyed gaze to his and spoke "We're taking you to Swineheart Bigby, you need help right now"

Bigby began to shift at the sentence "No, take me to the Business Office" He still sounded like crap and now he was moving, great.

Cindy spoke from behind the wheel "Bigby you need to get patched up now or your gonna bleed out!"

Bigby's eyes suddenly turned yellow and he practically roared "BUSINESS OFFICE NOW!"

He recoiled in pain and began whimpering like a hurt animal, Woody and Beast both tried to calm him down with simple shushes and friendly words while Gren was carefully holding him in place.

"Bigby, why the hell should we take you to the Business Office?" Cindy sounded annoyed as all hell and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Because... if she wakes up... you can arrest her again... by yourself" Bigby's voice sounded lower now and he seemed more relaxed from his previous outburst.

"Ugh fine!" Cindy swerved into a different lane and made her way towards Bullfinch Street.

* * *

><p>When they arrived Bigby was already on the warpath, he stumbled out of the car and fell to the floor "OW FUCK!" he caught the eye of some passing Fables and was helped to his feet by Woody as Gren picked up Mary's unconscious form from the trunk of the car.<p>

The group made their way into the lobby of the Woodland's and Bigby leant himself up against Grimble's desk; he was asleep on the other side as usual and Bigby needed him right now. Bigby drew up his right hand and smashed it down onto the desk hard enough to crack it and Grimble practically fell out of his chair as he awoke.

"Hey what the fu-" He stopped yelling when he saw Bigby's disfigured face and how pissed off he looked. Bigby pointed towards Mary and spoke through painfully gritted teeth "Cell... Now" Grimble nodded in haste before taking Gren and Mary down to the lower levels of the building at a hurried pace.

As they walked off, Bigby shrugged off Woody and Beast from helping him and stubbornly made his way towards the elevator, limping and grunting with each painful step.

He walked inside and gave a twisted look of anger to the 2 men before they could enter with him, even in his condition they wouldn't dare try and stop him.

Beast spoke up after the doors closed "Where the hell is he going?"

Woody replied with a shrug "Hell if I know, but we gotta get Swineheart now"

Bigby stopped off at his floor and stumbled towards his apartment, he fell to the ground with a thud and landed on his injured shoulder, the screaming he let out was more like an animal's cry and the whole building could hear it.

He dragged himself up and got through the door, quickly making his way towards his fridge. What the others didn't know was that the shards in Bigby's shoulder were magically digging their way through to his heart and he was going to get them out now, with or without Swineheart, and he needed alcohol to numb the pain and help clean the wounds.

He got to his fridge and quickly remembered that Colin had drunk all of his cold alcohol, so he practically crawled towards a cupboard with a few extra bottles inside and hoped for the best. Hope wasn't smiling on him right now.

The cupboard was empty and a sleeping Colin was surrounded with empty bottles and takeout boxes, Bigby hadn't noticed him until now.

In a rage, Bigby picked up one of the bottles and yelled into the pig's ear "What the fuck is wrong with you Colin! You drank all my booze!?" The pig shuddered awake and trembled in fear at the combination of Bigby's yelling and his horrific appearance "Whoa Bigby I'm sorry alright, what the fuck happened to you?" Bigby just threw the bottle at the wall above Colin's head and screamed as the glass fell "I shoulda killed you when I had the chance, worthless swine!"

With that Bigby stormed out of his apartment; not noticing that Colin had started sniffling at his outburst.

Bigby then felt something in his back pocket and remembered that Snow had given him a key to her apartment and she had a liquor cabinet. He stumbled and tripped back towards the elevator and got inside just as Woody and Beast came up to the floor to check on him, they rushed into his apartment to find Colin crying and broken glass surrounding him.

"Colin... you ok?" Beast asked sympathetically but he was slightly confused, he knew that Colin escaped from the Farm sometimes but didn't really care as it wasn't his problem to solve.

Colin nodded and spoke in between sniffs "He needs help right now"

In amongst all the commotion, Snow walked into the apartment and looked angry "Ok, what the hell is going on and who is making that horrible screaming?" The 3 looked at her and gulped collectively before Beast spoke up "Bigby's injured and we can't find him, he might die if we don't"

Snow had to stifle the urge to ask frantic questions and pushed back her panic to take charge "W-where do you think he is then?"

Woody spoke whilst examining the broken glass "We saw him go into the elevator, he was going up and I think he's looking for alcohol..."

Realization dawned on Snow as she remembered she had given him her spare key, but remained nonchalant throughout "I think I know where he's going..."

* * *

><p>Bigby stumbled with lidded eyes towards Snow's door; his tourniquets were loose now and the bleeding had worsened from all his moving and falling, not to mention the shards in his shoulder were now in his chest heading towards his heart.<p>

He unlocked the door and fell inside, scrambling to his feet as he made his way towards Snow's liquor cabinet and looked inside; he instantly grabbed an unopened bottle of 90% strength absinthe and headed towards her bathroom. It was all white and spacious, shame it was about to turn red and disgusting.

He ripped off the cap and took a good long swig of the stuff before resting against the wall, it was soothing but not for long enough. He ripped off his leg tourniquet and poured the alcohol over the wound, screaming bloody murder and howling with rage at the pain. The others downstairs heard the cries and hastened their pace.

Bigby then did the same to his shoulder and then to his eye; his screams were painful and very loud but he couldn't care less, he almost crushed the bottle in his grip from pouring it into his ruptured eyeball it hurt so much. Changing to his 2nd form, Bigby dug the clawed fingers of his right hand deep into his shoulder and pinched around frantically for the shards, howling and cursing as he did so.

By now Snow, Beast, Beauty, Cindy, Woody, Colin and Swineheart had walked into her open apartment and followed the trail of blood towards the bathroom; inside lay a morphed Bigby, covered head to toe in his own blood and practically ripping his shoulder open to get to the shards within.

He had pulled out a third one by now and reached in again after a few short breaths for the last one, the almost empty bottle of absinthe down by his side. Snow and Beauty couldn't watch but for different reasons; Beauty was squeamish at the gory sight and buried her face in Beast's chest but Snow wanted to cry at seeing Bigby in such a state, _"No, you have to stay strong"_ She told herself that over and over but it didn't help much.

Swineheart pushed through the small crowd and gasped at the sight of Bigby "Bigby, you need to stop now" he sounded calm as always but he seemed a little worried this time.

"No..." Bigby whispered through his tightly gritted fangs as he raked more flesh away from his shoulder to reach the last shard, at last he pulled it out and dropped it the ground with the others before pouring the last of the absinthe onto his horribly exposed shoulder; he roared out in agony and threw the bottle at the shower wall in fury, it shattered to pieces but the label was still mostly intact.

Swineheart quickly dropped to his side and began looking over the damage "You've made quite a mess of yourself this time old boy." He paid particular attention to his eye "Hmm, that'll take a few days to heal, if you're lucky".

Snow stepped forward and bent over to stare sorrowfully into Bigby's distant gaze "What happened?" Bigby didn't respond at first, then his eyes fell heavy and he collapsed to his right side. Swineheart spoke up "Damn it, we have to move him now, it's too cramped in here".

Beast and Woody lifted Bigby and carried him out into the large living room, laying him down on a spacious patch of floor without anything underneath to get ruined. Swineheart checked Bigby's pulse and his breathing, he was breathing albeit very slowly and his pulse was weak.

"He's lost a lot of blood and mostly from his shoulder." He stood up and faced the crowd "His right eye is ruptured and useless, his shoulder is a mess of ripped muscles and tendons and his leg isn't healing; so what did he do this time?"

Woody stepped forward and awkwardly said "My axe gave him the leg wound"

Snow turned to Woody angrily "What do you mean 'your axe'?"

Woody looked sheepish at first but retaliated "I didn't do it! One of Mary's clones got the axe from me, I stopped her from taking his head off with it but this happened instead!"

Snow shook her head and turned back to Bigby, he had reverted back into a human form now.

Swineheart perked up "Your axe was ensorcelled by Druids to kill Lycans, or Werewolves as Mundies call them now, right? If so then that wound won't be healed with my skills, it'll be left up to his magic; same goes for his eye, what the hell happened to it anyway?"

Beast spoke next "Mary ripped out a shard of glass from it; it was already in there somehow"

Swineheart pulled a half smile as he remembered Bigby complaining to him only two days after dealing with Mary the first time "Ah yes, he was complaining about his eye itching after fighting with Mary, we couldn't find anything wrong with it though and after a few days the itching stopped altogether and we assumed the best."

Swineheart began to wrap up Bigby's wounds with bandages, making sure to use gauze on his shoulder and leg "It's a good thing he used that absinthe, means I won't have to clean out the wounds myself; by the way Miss White, why do you own such a thing?"

Snow was met with a shared look of confusion and intrigue by the others before she relented with a sigh "My sister gave it to me not long after I became Deputy Mayor, she said it was to take the edge off of things if I couldn't handle the workload.; I was never going to drink it though"

Swineheart glanced to the mirror shards that were previously on the floor of the bathroom "Why was he digging those out by himself I wonder?"

Cindy spoke next "Mary will know..." Beast and Woody both looked at her and nodded in agreement.

Now all bandaged up with his arm in a sling, the bleeding had stopped and Bigby looked mostly peaceful in his unconsciousness; he stirred slightly and then opened his good eye, the other one being covered tightly by bandages, before speaking in a strained voice.

"Am I going to die?"

Swineheart chuckled briefly "Far from it old boy, but you were close to it though; if I hadn't stopped the bleeding when I did then you surely would've passed awa-" he was met with a wry look from Snow and the others and stopped before he said anything else.

Bigby then tried to move but fell back with a loud groan "Where's Colin?"

Colin moved towards Bigby with a saddened look on his face, one that Bigby was mirroring. He put his good hand to the pig's head and rubbed it slowly "Colin, I'm sorry I yelled at you like that, I-I didn't mean what I said"

Colin nodded and cracked a smile "Eh, I shouldn't have drank all your booze anyway" Swineheart then intervened quietly "On the contrary the absinthe was a much better decision than whiskey, much stronger and cleaner for starters..."

Bigby was slowly helped to his feet by Woody and Beast again and walked over to Snow's luxurious sofa; he collapsed onto it slowly and relaxed at the feel of the soft fabric on his bare back.

Swineheart stood up again and took charge once more "All right, you all need to listen to what I am about to say and that goes triple for you Bigby."

Bigby looked up at Swineheart in mild interest as he continued talking "He needs to rest and not for light duty; I demand on Doctor's orders that he do nothing for the next 3 days at least, he can walk around if he is able to do so without hurting himself, but under no circumstances is he to engage in any physical activities, especially ones involving violence or fast paced movements. If he tries to do so then I will sedate him and keep him in the Hospital until he gets better and I know that isn't a fun idea for him."

Bigby perked up "I can hear you loud and clear Swineheart, so when can I get back to work?"

"When? When you regain full movement in your shoulder and when you can walk perfectly on that leg without feeling any pain" Swineheart then focused in on his bandaged eye "That on the other hand is a different story I'm afraid..."

He then turned towards Snow and the crowd "Miss White he listens to you, if he disobeys then he must be brought straight to me, it's for his own good"

Snow and the others all nodded their concurrence "I will"

"All right then, Miss White, Bigby, the rest of you, good day"

With that Swineheart left the apartment and was shortly followed by Beauty, Beast, Woody and Cindy; at least after they had each asked Bigby if he was going to be ok.

Before Colin left he turned and spoke "Can I get you anything from your apartment? You aren't exactly gonna be moving around anytime soon so..."

Bigby pulled a half smile at the pig "I need some new clothes... also you couldn't retrieve my cane from the wardrobe could you?"

Colin knew the one he was talking about "Sure, I'll be back soon" With that he left and Snow closed the door behind him.

She turned around back to Bigby and checked him over: He was stained all over in his own blood, he was only wearing his pants which were coated in dry blood and heavily ripped and he had gauze and bandages on his shoulder and leg, not to mention a bandage and pad covering his eye and his left arm in a sling; he looked very tired and who could blame him.

She walked towards the couch and sat beside Bigby, reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind his right ear "How do you feel?" Her voice quivered as she tried to contain her sorrow.

Bigby turned to face her with a smile and placed his hand on top of hers on her lap, drawing circles onto one of them with his thumb "You know me, hunky dory as always"

Snow couldn't contain it any longer; she rested her head against his shoulder and sobbed into it as she wrapped her arms around him, her voice was a whisper "I thought you were going to die"

Bigby wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer before resting his head on hers and breathing her in "I don't die so easily".

She pulled away and looked at him again before setting a kiss on his cheek "You'll have to stay here until you can move again..."

Bigby nodded "I'm fine with that if you are?"

Snow smiled "Of course I am. But Swineheart is right Bigby, you're not going to do anything until you can function normally again right?"

Bigby sighed heavily "Yes... but can I at least do my reports in my time off? I'm not exactly used to not doing anything."

Snow nodded and rose to her feet "Of course, I'll bring them up to you later, in the mean time I have to get back and you need to rest. Also don't worry about the mess; I'll get Flycatcher to clean it up"

As she walked towards the door, Snow heard Bigby grunting and turned around to see that he was trying (and failing) to stand up "What are you doing?"

He looked at her and pouted "Is that all Miss White?"

Snow huffed and marched back to him before crashing her mouth against his, he leaned back into the sofa willingly and wrapped his arm around her back to pull her closer; Snow pulled away however before she could became lost in his affections.

"I'll make it up to you later, Wolf" She flashed a playful smile as she stroked his cheek with her thumb before turning on her heels and leaving the apartment.

Bigby adjusted himself so that he was lying down on the sofa and allowed sleep to take him.

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: Mary reveals a secret and Bigby starts his leave from work<strong>


	9. Bloody Mary part 3

**Bloody Mary part 3 – First day off the job**

Bigby woke up to the smell of cooking meat and something distinctly amazing; he groggily looked around and noticed that it was now dark outside and the apartment lights were on.

He adjusted himself to see Snow in her kitchen; her hair was down and she was missing her jacket and heels, obviously he had been asleep for quite a while as the Business Office closed to the public at 9pm.

With a grunt Bigby shifted to a sitting position and looked at the coffee table in front of him to see the files from his office were lying atop it. He picked one up and noticed that someone had written down after-action reports for Woody, Gren and Beast, _"That could've been Snow... or maybe it was Cinderella"_ He thought to himself with a smile.

Snow turned around to see Bigby sitting up and made her way towards him "Hey" she spoke softly.

Bigby turned to face her and had never felt happier "Hey yourself, what time is it?"

Snow crossed her arms against the top of the sofa, leaning on it "Its 9:30 at night"

Bigby sniffed the air again and relaxed at the smell "Is that chicken?"

Snow smiled and pulled herself up "Yep and it's mostly for you; Swineheart told me that you still have high blood pressure and white meat always helps with that."

She returned to her kitchen and Bigby tried to stand up; the pain was still there and he couldn't put hardly any weight onto his leg but at least he wasn't falling over... yet.

He reached for his cane which was resting up against the table and managed to move away from it, walking with the cane was awkward what with all the weight shifting he had to do but hopefully he wouldn't need it for too long. He made his way towards the bathroom and found it clean and tidy as though he hadn't performed amateur surgery on himself inside of it just hours ago; clearly Flycatcher and Colin had come round when he was sleeping, but if he didn't smell or hear them come in then he must've passed out.

Checking himself over in the mirror, he picked up a small wet towel from the basin and used it to wipe away the blood from his face and torso; it came off easy enough as it was dry but he would need a long hot shower to get it all off completely. He tried to open his eye from underneath the bandages but it just throbbed painfully so he left it closed.

Going back out, Bigby noticed a new set of clothes resting on Snow's bed; a blue button down shirt and an old pair of denim jeans plus some grey socks and white trainers. It would seem like a shock to anyone that Bigby owned anything besides white shirts, black pants and ties, but he did own some casual clothes in case he ever went abroad on assignments.

Sitting down on the bed and removing his destroyed pants, Bigby managed with some effort to pull on the jeans, but couldn't pull on the shirt as his arm was useless; he had some motion in his hand but it hurt to move his arm and he couldn't even twitch his shoulder. Snow had heard him complaining quietly and went to give him some help.

"Here, let me help you with that" She very slowly raised up his arm just enough that she could slide it through the sleeve before buttoning up his shirt for him; he just smiled at her the whole time "Thanks".

Snow smiled back and retreated back into the kitchen "Dinner is served"

Bigby made his way to the dining table and after a short wait was delivered a plate containing cuts upon cuts of chicken and a large drumstick smothered in gravy with some vegetables on the side. Snow sat down opposite him, her plate was nowhere near as stacked but she wasn't really looking to quench her appetite.

"Hope you enjoy it" Snow smiled as she began to tuck into her dinner.

"I'm sure I will" Bigby picked up his fork and started eating, if he was alone he would've eaten quickly with his fingers but around Snow he would try his best to remain a gentleman and so ate slowly and delicately; he treasured the delicious taste and criticised himself internally for not eating slowly in the past, he could taste every single herb, spice and juice that had been used and everything was perfect.

Not only that, but it had been made especially for him by the woman he loved.

* * *

><p>O Earlier in the day<p>

"You'd better start talking before I start swinging bitch!" Woody was being restrained by Beast as he growled and shouted at the now conscious Mary, she was strapped to the same chair Dee had been strapped to only months prior.

"Come on Woodsman, gimme your best shot, make that whore proud" Mary was smiling that wicked smile and Woody had half a mind to kill her there and then, if not for hurting Bigby then for insulting Lily.

"You shut the hell up and you calm down or get out, your choice!" Snow yelled at the two and Woody calmed down a little, but Mary continued to grin.

Snow moved closer to Mary and spoke angrily "What did you do to Bigby?"

Mary pulled back into a half smile "Oh just the usual, kicked his tight hairy ass for stepping out of line again"

"I mean his shoulder, Mary"

"Oh that? Just a little something I was planning on doing to his brain at some point but I decided to have a little more fun first" she giggled quietly to herself.

Snow moved away and shook her head; she could see that Woody was eager to get his hands on Mary and right now Snow was considering it.

She turned back to Mary and tried something else "Who are you working for now?"

Mary looked surprised at her question and then answered "The same person I always worked for..."

"You mean the Crooked Man?"

Mary just chuckled "No silly girl, I never worked directly for the Crooked Man, he hired me just like he hired Jersey and the Tweedles. I work for the guy who sponsored the Crooked Man."

Snow looked on in disbelief "What do you mean 'sponsored'?"

Mary shook her head mockingly and chuckled again before breathing in "The Crooked Man came to this town with enough to keep himself satisfied, but he quickly realised that that wasn't going to be enough in order to make it in the long run; so he looked around for someone who could help him with that and make him into something that the people could use when YOU were too busy being bossed around by Crane."

Snow cringed at the man's name; she wanted to wring the creep's neck for the way he desired her.

Mary continued "He finally found someone, a man from the Homelands who gave him the money and resources he needed to create his operation and then he hired myself from him us as his muscle, I work for the man from the Homelands, princess."

Snow replied "Who is he?"

Mary continued smiling "He was a pirate once upon a time but has been known for many things since then..."

Snow's face turned to shock "Do you mean Bluebeard!?"

Mary just started laughing like she had heard the world's funniest joke; Snow and the others weren't impressed.

Eventually Mary calmed down and replied "No, his name is Nick and he is going to make you all pay for this"

Cindy had been standing in the back by the door with Gren and perked up at the name; she would've brought it up there and then but remembered that her occupation was top secret unless Bigby gave her free reign to divulge it, he hadn't and thus she would have to discuss it with him in private sooner rather than later.

Gren spoke up "Wait, do you mean the psycho who owns the Scottish Arms down at the docks?"

Snow and the others all looked towards Gren; Snow spoke next "Do you know him?"

Gren looked angry as he replied "I thank every possible God there is that I don't know anything besides his name and the fact he's a bartender, but I'd also say with confidence that he's crazier than this bitch and a murderer. I went to that bar once years ago and never went back, the guy gave me the creeps and I don't get scared easily"

Beast looked worried "Just who the hell is he?"

Mary perked up from her chair with an evil smile "He's the Devil."

* * *

><p>O Next Morning<p>

Snow woke up and felt hot all around; she replayed last night through her head: Not long after she and Bigby had quietly eaten their dinner, Bigby was becoming tired again and went to sleep back on the sofa, that is until Snow told him he could sleep in the bed with her, pointing out that the soft mattress would be a lot comfier than the sofa.

As she went to change into a fitted white tank top and fluffy blue pyjama pants covered in snowflakes, Bigby had already fallen asleep on the bed still wearing his clothes. Considering how long it took him to get them on it was probably best that he didn't take them off so soon; however he had fallen asleep on top of the covers and Snow wasn't about to try and move him so she opted instead to snuggle up to his warmth and fell asleep after placing a kiss to his temple.

Waking up the next morning to her alarm clock, Snow tapped it off with her hand and noticed the source of the warmth: Bigby's right arm had snaked its way under her back and round her side with his hand resting there and had pulled her close to him, her right hand had previously been resting on his other arm in its sling and her head was brushing against his.

She smiled at how cute he looked when he mumbled in his sleep but didn't fail to notice the still healing cuts and bruises and the obvious bandages of his more serious wounds; she slipped away from his grasp and rested against the headboard, Bigby stirred slowly at the lack of contact and had to shift onto his side to look at Snow due to his eye.

"Morning" He spoke with a yawn.

"Morning sleepyhead, you know what happened last night?" Snow spoke with a smirk.

Bigby's face turned to confusion; if he and Snow weren't together at this moment he would be in pure shock of thinking that they had done something scandalous.

"No..." Bigby's voice trailed off, he was obviously waiting for Snow to answer her question for him.

"Don't 'no' me! You were holding me for most of the night like I was a giant teddy bear, I thought you were supposed to be big and bad" Snow spoke with stifled laughter; she was playing with him.

Bigby shifted closer towards her "Well you did tell me to sleep in the bed with you and I was asleep at the time so you could cut me a break here"

Snow just leaned closer towards him and kissed him; Bigby grabbed her waist and laid her back down on the bed as Snow wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

Bigby pulled away slowly and spoke at a whisper "I don't see you complaining about this"

Snow brushed his nose with hers and replied in the same tone "I wasn't complaining handsome"

The pair smiled as they reconnected their lips and the kiss became hungrier as Bigby cupped Snow's cheek... then the phone rang.

The pair pulled away and Snow quietly complained to herself before sitting up on the edge of the bed and picking up the phone.

"Hello? Ugh, Bufkin what is it?"

As Snow spoke, Bigby had shifted to sitting up and moved her hair over her right shoulder and began kissing the left crook of her neck; Snow slowly relaxed into the gesture but had to contain herself from becoming lost to it completely, even though Bufkin knew about her and Bigby it was still a business call.

"You're joking right? Oh for God's sake- yes, yes, uh huh, ok..."

Snow kept trying to brush Bigby away with her hand but he wasn't taking the hint, he retaliated by licking behind her left ear and Snow almost gasped in surprise at the feel of it, she responded by elbowing him and Bigby recoiled instantly.

"Ok I'll be down shortly, just please try and keep him away if you can? Ok, goodbye."

Snow sighed heavily before turning around to Bigby; she hadn't yet realised that she had elbowed his bad shoulder and a few tiny spots of blood were now visible on his shirt. Her expression changed to regret in an instant "Oh Bigby, I'm sorry, I didn't realise!"

Bigby was tenderly rubbing his shoulder with his hand, when his gaze met her own he looked angry and she felt bad at her actions; however before she could do or say anything Bigby put his hand to the back of Snow's neck and swiftly pulled her on top of him for a steamy kiss.

Snow moaned in surprise as she cupped Bigby's face and ran her fingers through his oily hair; they pulled away and Bigby looked Snow in the eye intently and spoke bluntly "Ow that fucking hurt"

Snow kissed him again before rising to her feet "Apparently Bluebeard decided he was going to torture Mary by himself to get information; Boy Blue and Grimble managed to stop him before he could do anything though"

Bigby sat up "How does he get away with all this?"

Snow looked back at him "You know why already; he's the main source of funding for the community so unfortunately we have to give him some slack, but there is no way he is becoming involved this time around"

Bigby stood up and stretched out before suddenly falling back to sitting on the bed, holding his leg and wincing in pain "Ahh this hurts, looks like I'm not going anywhere today".

Snow undressed herself as she walked into the bathroom; Bigby caught a brief glimpse of her swaying her bare hips as she walked in, obviously she knew he was watching.

Snow closed the door to and started the shower; Bigby grabbed his cane and got up, making his way towards the kitchen. If he couldn't stay for breakfast yesterday then at least he had no choice but to stay for breakfast today and he felt content enough to make it himself.

Snow emerged from the bathroom a while later in the same bath robe she had worn the previous morning, but her hair was wrapped up in a towel as well. She could smell the distinct cooking of bacon and walked into the kitchen to see that Bigby had made her bacon and eggs, obviously he had made it whilst she was showering as Bigby had already finished his plate.

"I didn't know how long you'd be so I cooked them individually; yours is still warm at least" He shot her a sweet smile after he spoke.

She smiled back "You're adorable sometimes".

As she sat down to eat; Snow told Bigby about her interrogation of Mary from yesterday and how she had revealed that she was really working for Nick.

"Jack mentioned Nick to me yesterday morning; I'll have to pay him a visit when I can move again".

Snow looked at Bigby for a while and sighed "I hoped that this would be done with by now, just how many problems does this community have that we don't know about?"

Bigby looked at her crystal blue eyes "Don't worry Snow, we'll get things done in the end, we always do"

Snow grinned playfully "Again I'm just gonna wait for the Big Bad Wolf to solve all my problems?"

Bigby looked taken aback and stood up "Well if that's how you see it, then good luck doing it by yourself"

Snow giggled as she finished off her last strip of bacon, quickly rising from her chair "Bigby, come on I was only messing with you!"

Bigby ignored Snow as he limped over to her sofa and dropped onto it, putting on a fake air of coldness as he switched on the TV.

Snow walked over to Bigby and sat down next to him, eyeing up his face "Are you really that upset with me?"

Bigby glanced to Snow "Mhmm"

Snow surprised Bigby when she straddled his waist, obscuring the idiot box and moving his hand to her face as she placed one hand on top of it and the other on his shoulder "Still mad at me?"

Bigby wasn't really upset with her, he just wanted to see how she would react; his barriers faltered as he smiled and chuckled and Snow realised a little too late that she had been played for a fool.

"You're never getting sex again Mr Wolf" With that she got off of Bigby's lap and went to her bedroom to change, Bigby couldn't help but giggle to himself like a tiny child as he switched off the TV and returned his attention to the files on the table.

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: Snow and Bigby reveal their secret to trusted friends and Bigby talks with Mary about Nick<strong>


	10. Bloody Mary part 4

**Bloody Mary part 4 – Revelations**

Snow returned to the living room minutes later in her usual work attire, her hair was up in a bun and she looked determined; and she was clearly still frustrated with Bigby's little charade of resenting her.

Bigby just continued to look through the files on the table for fear that if he looked up at Snow he would start laughing again and he really wasn't in the mood for a pointless argument.

"Are you planning on staying here all day?" Snow was almost out the door before she poked her head back into the apartment.

Bigby looked up at her "I wasn't exactly planning on going anywhere else, doctor's orders remember. Wait, are you afraid that people will start speculating because you let a badly injured man stay at your apartment for the simple reason that he couldn't move?"

Snow blushed and stared at the ground, silently answering his question; then she told him "Bufkin saw us yesterday in the Business Office, he knows about 'us' but I made him keep it a secret"

Bigby didn't change his expression "I guess we can trust him to keep quiet; Beast heard the screaming by the way and now he, Woody and Gren have all given me the sympathy vote thinking that you were with someone else!"

Snow blushed even more as her expression turned to one of shock "Oh God this is going to turn awkward very quickly"

Bigby leant back and grinned "We could always just tell people that we trust, lessen the blow when the truth comes out"

Snow considered the thought and kind of agreed with it "I'm meeting Briar Rose and Cinderella today for our monthly get together... I guess they should know at least"

Bigby nodded "You think Blue should know? I mean he's been a good friend to both of us for years and we know he's definitely trustworthy"

Snow nodded her concurrence, but then pulled an evil smile "Ok, but you have to break the news to him yourself"

Before Bigby could protest Snow shut the door and headed off down the hall towards the elevator, in his condition there was no way he could catch her; accepting defeat Bigby turned the TV back on and left it as background noise while he scanned through his reports and began to fill them out.

* * *

><p>O Lunchtime, Briar Rose's apartment<p>

The 3 women had decided to meet up at Briar's luxurious apartment for lunch as part of their get together; they talked about anything and everything and of course their good-for-nothing ex-husband Prince Charming. Honestly, they really enjoyed their little monthly get together, but for a reason that currently only she knew Snow was distant from it all.

"Hey Snow are you ok?" Briar looked at Snow from her expensive leather recliner; Briar was the second richest Fable in Fabletown next to Bluebeard, thanks to her curse she would never go poor, if she lost all her money one day then she could win it all back on the lottery the next day.

Snow snapped back to reality and took a long sip of her tea "Yeah I'm fine, it's just work getting to me you know".

Cindy suddenly changed the subject to one that was never really discussed by the women of Fabletown anymore: the attractiveness of Sheriff Wolf.

"So, has anyone managed to steal the Wolf's heart yet? Or is he going to continue living in solitude all his life; I don't believe in 'Happily Ever After' anymore but I certainly wouldn't say no to sleeping with him..."

Briar gasped at the subject "Cindy! Well come to think of it he is certainly rugged, but he's never shown an interest in anyone and it's kinda put me off him."

Cindy retaliated "Briar, I've seen his body and that man was carved by the Gods themselves out of marble! He puts Charming to absolute shame, trust me"

Briar suddenly became more interested "Really! When?"

Cindy pretended to ignore her but couldn't help herself, this time she was telling a half-truth "I caught him coming out of the shower one time and he didn't seem to notice me standing there..." Cindy was so used to lying now that it almost felt like every lie was a truth and vice versa, it kinda scared her sometimes.

Briar was unconvinced but still intrigued by the thought of a naked Bigby "Since when did you ever see Bigby Wolf showering?"

Cindy looked more intently now "It was when he was looking for the thieves that robbed my store a couple of years back; he left the door of his apartment open for me and I walked in and I sorta had a peek into his bathroom before he got the towel around his waist..."

In truth, the two had been on an operation in Italy in the early 1900's and had to share a room under the pretence of being a couple, Cindy had accidently walked in him after he had finished showering but had seen enough to make her want to pounce on him.

Throughout the whole conversation Snow had gone along with the act of giggling and being shocked, but sooner or later her little trump card was going to come out and now seemed like the best time "I think I'm falling for someone"

Cindy and Briar perked up from their childish giggling and rude thoughts to focus on Snow; Briar spoke "Well we heard all about the screaming on Halloween night and some folks say it was you"

Snow blushed furiously and nodded ever so slightly in embarrassment, but it was enough for the two women to crowd around her like a mob, both frantically demanding to know who it was she was with.

Snow glanced down biting her lip before looking between the two fair women and bluntly said "I stole the Wolf's heart".

The 2 Fables gasped collectively with their hands covering their mouths; Cindy broke the silence "I knew it would be you!"

Snow and Briar both looked at her confused, Snow spoke next "How exactly?"

Cindy just looked at Snow in disbelief "You two have been so damn close for centuries now we were practically making bets on how long it would be before you got together"

Briar shook her head with a chuckle and looked at Snow "Well I'm happy for you, knowing Bigby he'll definitely try and make things work between you"

Snow smiled at her friend and held her hands "Thank you, Briar"

Cindy once again broke the moment "So he was good right?"

Snow glared at Cindy but she wasn't budging, with a small sigh and a feint grin Snow responded "He was more than perfect; he made Charming feel like an amateur and he's big."

The two women instantly became more interested at Snow's response, but they weren't getting any more details and they would just have to live with it.

* * *

><p>O Lunchtime, Snow White's apartment<p>

Bigby and Boy Blue were sitting on Snow's sofa; he had brought Bigby up some sandwiches from a Mundy store under the assumption that he couldn't make his own lunch himself.

"Wait seriously!?" Blue had a combined look of shock and happiness on his face as Bigby told him what had happened on Halloween and how one thing had led to another.

"Yep, I told her everything and then my wildest dream came true" Bigby had a huge smile plastered on his face, he was like Snow in that he didn't have many friends, in fact Bigby and Snow both kept pretty much the same company of friends.

Blue patted Bigby on his good shoulder "Well, I'm sure you'll make her happy Biggs" Only Blue ever called Bigby 'Biggs'; Flycatcher had done so once or twice but most of the time it was just 'Sheriff' with him.

Bigby took a bite from a ham and cheese sandwich and changed the subject "How is our newest house guest doing?"

Blue turned serious in a flash "She's cooperating at least; knows how to push people's buttons but what do you expect. Bluebeard keeps trying to talk to her though and I keep thinking that he's a part of this somehow" Bigby remembered how Bluebeard attacked Flycatcher and forced his way into the Tweedles office and trashed it looking for something 4 months ago, something which he apparently found in the end.

"Bluebeard might be involved in a financial sense, but he's good at covering his tracks and Mayor Cole won't do anything about him unless I build a strong enough case... which I've been doing now for well over a century."

Blue nodded his concurrence, he personally had never taken any nonsense from Bluebeard; in fact since Snow had become Deputy Mayor Bluebeard had been appearing around the Office less and less, starting after the Crooked Man was dealt with in which Bluebeard had tried to become Snow's assistant, but he quickly proved to be terrible at the job and left voluntarily after one day claiming that too many people complained about nonsense and he was bored of it.

The decision to appoint Blue as Snow's assistant had been a collective one on Snow and Bigby's part, with Snow pointing out that he was hard working and Bigby pointing out more obviously that they both knew him well.

After all had been said and done, Snow returned to the Business Office and noticed the passive smiles that Blue was giving her _"So Bigby told him then"_ the thought made her smile and she melted a little inside.

Going back to business; Cindy stopped by Snow's apartment to discuss matters with Bigby, who still hadn't changed his clothes or showered since last night despite the fact it was now late afternoon "Ok Boss, what is it you want me to do exactly?"

"Simple reconnaissance for now, keep your distance from the bar until you have an idea of what's surrounding it and who's going in and out especially"

Cindy nodded "Ok, I'll report back to you tomorrow then; by the way congratulations Mr 'I'm gonna be a lone wolf forever'" Bigby smiled bluntly at her as she turned and left the apartment. Resting back against the sofa for the millionth time that day; Bigby's boredom made him snap inside and he got to his feet and walked out to the elevator, it was time to pay Mary a visit.

* * *

><p>The lower levels of the Woodland's were cold, damp and very medieval looking, a perfect reminder of home. Bigby made his way towards Mary's cell; she had been moved from the interrogation room yesterday night and hadn't made a sound since then.<p>

Bigby peered through the 3 bars that allowed vision into the cell; it wasn't spacious but it possessed two single mattress beds, thin pillows and itchy blankets, the sources of light were mounted torches on the four walls of the cell.

Mary was sleeping on the left side bed like a baby, Bigby had to admit that her delicate face looked rather cute while she slept but he knew better than to let her looks deceive him. He banged on the door 3 times and Mary tightened her eyes and rolled over onto her other side; he banged another 3 times but louder and she finally spoke "Fuck off Wolf; I'm trying to catch my beauty sleep".

Bigby unlocked the door and stepped into the cell, shutting the door behind him but not locking it; he sat down on the opposite bed and stared at Mary until she rolled over onto her other side once again and met his gaze; she nearly laughed when she saw him.

"Awww, you're all fixed up again, I should pay Swineheart in gold to not help you" Bigby stood up and leered over Mary, she stared into his eyes before looking down at his cane, the steel Wolf's head made her chuckle "Where'd you get that, Lord Wolf?" Bigby glanced down at the cane and looked back up "West Germany, 1943, belonged to a Nazi official and I 'retrieved' it from him".

Mary sat up and stretched out, Bigby stepped back a little; she wasn't chained down or tied up or anything like that, therefore if anything went down then it would be up to Bigby alone to stop her and right now his chances of doing that were slim.

Mary edged back to lean against the cold stone wall with her legs crossed in front of her; she was wearing the same ripped and blood-stained clothes from yesterday and there were still tiny cuts and bruises on her face.

"Nick fought in the war as well you know, in the Navy though; that guy loves the sea more than anything else." The 2 Fables just kept staring daggers at each other, almost as if they were waiting for a penny to drop so they could charge at each other and fight to the death.

Bigby sat down on the bed once more; he didn't move a muscle below his neck when he spoke "Is Nick going to become a problem for us?"

Mary shrugged "Hell if I know; he does what he wants just as much as I do, the only difference being that he solves his own problems without help from other people, he's that good" Bigby furrowed his brows even more, he was getting bored of the stonewalling but at the same time something inside kept telling him that Mary was telling the truth.

Mary yawned and spoke again "Have you heard of the Scottish myth called the Nuckelavee, Bigby?"

Bigby slowly shook his head, but he was interested.

Mary sat up straight and stretched her legs out in front of her "It's not much of a story as it's a bunch of tales and sightings related to the same being; the Nuckelavee is a sea monster of sorts that comes to land during seasons when it doesn't rain in order to kill off crops and livestock and generally scare the locals shitless. It is incapable of touching freshwater for reasons unknown, hence why it never appears during rainy seasons."

"So what you're saying is that I'm dealing with a sea monster that can come onto land? Somehow I think you're full of bullshit"

Mary cracked a brief smile before closing her eyes and resting back up against the wall "You'll see Wolfie, you'll see."

With that Bigby got up and walked out of the cell, making double sure to lock it on his way out; Mary just sat there resting, she was being calm for a reason and Bigby still had no clue as to what that reason was.

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: We flashback to after the Crooked Man's trial and finally meet the villain of this story, Nick<strong>


	11. Meet Nick

**Meet Nick 3 Months ago**

O 2 days after the Crooked Man's trial

It was cold and dark outside but it was warm and bright on the inside, not to mention the loud sound of the jukebox, the thick combined smell of seawater, alcohol and cigarettes and the loud rants of dozens of dock workers all enjoying a typical night at the pub. Welcome to the Scottish Arms.

The pub was quite spacious on the inside; there was one bar at the back and it wasn't overly big but there were chairs and tables scattered around the place along with a pool table, a dart board and surprisingly enough a boxing ring in the middle of it all. The jukebox was playing a varied mix of songs by a number of rock artists like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Motorhead etc and no one was complaining about it; except for one.

Sitting at the bar were two very large men in matching suits, one with a brown fedora and the other with a green cap; next to them was a pot-bellied middle-aged looking man with receding ginger hair and large rimmed glasses and next to him was an elderly women in homemade clothes with a birdcage containing a crow in front of her.

The Tweedle brothers, Jersey Devil, Aunty Greenleaf and a morphed Crooked Man were all sitting at Nick's bar waiting; waiting for HIM to show up and do whatever it was he was going to do.

Greenleaf was complaining about the horrible music the jukebox was playing but no one was really paying attention as they were all scared out of their skin at the thought of Nick seeing them like this: they would have to beg for a second chance and they were none convinced that he would give it to them.

As if on cue the man in question appeared from out back and Nick was a real sight to behold: he was standing at roughly 6'3 and had a body carved from solid rock, his muscles were big and toned and he looked as though he could lift a car with ease, the only way to describe him facially would be to call him 'a handsome devil' that was all you could call him; rugged wasn't enough as he trimmed his facial hair into a moustache and goatee and didn't necessarily look gruff, but cute certainly wasn't enough either as his face showed ageless lines and he possessed a defined scar over his right eye and what looked like a large crow's feet scar on his left cheek; he had jet black hair that went down to his shoulders and it swayed as it pleased.

He was wearing a tightly fitted black t-shirt with the ace of spades on the front and back of it, the shirt left nothing of his impossibly tough physique to the imagination; lower down he was wearing dark blue jeans with a chain on the side and black Amy-issue combat boots. He had large tribal tattoos covering his arms and was wearing a shark tooth necklace. His eyes were the most interesting though as his right eye was a deep hazel colour and his left eye was sapphire blue. When he spoke he spoke with a very deep and gravelly voice and a thick Scottish accent like he was from Glasgow.

"So, I hear that you lot failed quite miserably."

The 4 Fables didn't dare to look him in the eye for fear that they would change colour to a piercing yellow, a telltale sign of Nick's rage and power.

"Well one of you better speak up or you can all get the fuck out"

Jersey spoke up "Nick, we tried to get the Wolf off our backs-"

"Bullshit Jersey, you buncha whelps didn't do shit right, the only person that actually made an attempt was ma girl Mary"

A few of the dock workers casually left the bar at the sound of Nick's voice raising ever so slightly; Nick noticed this and rose up his right hand before loudly snapping his fingers. On cue the entire bar emptied and the jukebox stopped playing; there was nothing but pure silence and privacy now.

Nick had started cleaning empty glasses with a cream-coloured rag; this meant that they had a chance to speak.

Jersey continued "The Wolf caught wind of what we were doing cuz Georgie fucked up alright, but he's been taken care of now and plus the Crooked Man's right here" He gestured towards the now restless crow.

Nick eyed up the bird and let it out of its cage before looking intently at Greenleaf "You got the tube for him?"

Greenleaf nodded and brandished the glamour tube, opening it. There was a distinct flash of green and a straining sound like rope being stretched, in the aftermath the Crooked Man was standing next to Greenleaf in the same suit he was wearing when he was transformed only days ago.

The Crooked Man brushed himself down and composed himself "Thank you Greenleaf, you did well" He heard Nick snort mockingly from behind the bar but paid no attention to him.

Jersey and the Tweedles were shocked, Jersey spoke again "Wait, you planned for this to happen!?"

The Crooked Man took a step towards Jersey "Not necessarily; I had Greenleaf come up with this plan in case I got captured by the Wolf, I was planning on him bringing me to the trial and impressing Miss White and the others enough that he would go for the option of not killing me in order to prove his reformation was true."

Greenleaf then perked up "Alright Crooked Man my debt to you is paid, now let me go."

Dum then spoke "What debt?"

Crooked Man eyed Dum "I got Greenleaf's tree back only under the condition that she help me escape death somehow in the future; but yes Greenleaf your debt is paid, you can go now"

Nick didn't even look up "No, you can't"

Greenleaf stared at Nick "Excuse me?"

Nick looked her in the eye and she instantly regretted back-talking him "I said you're not going anywhere, witch"

Dee then spoke up "Come on Nick, we were doing fine until Georgie fucked up; if you give us a second chance we can make it work, we'll even kill the Wolf and deliver his head to you!" He was desperate and he sounded desperate.

Nick set down a glass and threw the rag over his shoulder, he was chuckling lowly now "No Dee; you all fucked up, you had so many opportunities to deal with the Wolf and make everything go away a lot quicker but instead you had to go and play your little games and bide your sweet fucking time."

He leaned up against the bar and the others backed away slightly, he pointed to each of them with two fingers "Dee, you broke under the most basic form of interrogation: not thinking before you speak. Dum, you had a chance to shoot the Wolf dead but you tossed the gun over to your useless brother instead. Jersey, you got too confident and when the Wolf had you by the balls you told him how to reach the Crooked Man and you even insulted ma girl. Greenleaf, you told them about Crane, not that I really cared for the sick little shit but still. And you, Crooked Man, well I gave you everything and now you've gone and lost it all... and I ain't gonna give it back to ya."

Jersey stood up and pounded his fists down on the bar "You know what Nicky boy, fuck you! We don't need you anymore and we aren't about to be made your property to do with what you want, so are you gonna let us go or are you gonna make this difficult?"

Nick looked at Jersey for the longest time before clicking his tongue and moving away from the bar; he reached underneath it for something and Jersey instantly removed his glamour and got ready for a fight. When Nick stood up again he had his hands down by his sides and no one could see what he was holding. "Sorry Jersey, but you fucked up and now you gotta pay the price"

As Jersey went to lunge, there was a deafening bang that echoed throughout the bar and made everyone except Nick and Jersey jump in shock. Jersey looked down to see a gaping hole through his stomach; he looked up again to see that Nick was holding a sawn-off double barrel shotgun with a steel body and ebony-coloured wood grips in his right hand. Before Jersey could do anything else, Nick fired again and shot the other barrel into his chest, creating yet another hole that went clean through without moving him.

Then the blood started pouring out and Jersey staggered back before falling to his knees, exhaling deeply but not quite breathing in. As he staggered, Nick moved from behind the bar and broke the barrel to remove the empty blue shells before coming up behind Jersey and placing the broken breach under his chin and snapping his neck with it effortlessly. Jersey fell limp but Nick wasn't done; throwing the weapon back behind the bar Nick grabbed Jersey's head with both hands and planted a size 10 boot to his back and ripped his horse head clean off.

Nick briefly admired his trophy and set it down on the bar; Dum came up behind Nick and smashed a chair over his back, he didn't even flinch. Nick turned around and picked up Dum by the throat before slamming him down into the ground, as he lay there squirming Nick quickly turned and punched Dee in his still-healing knife wound and he too fell to the ground crying in pain. Turning back around to Dum, Nick brought up his foot and smashed it down onto Dum's head, crushing it into a disgusting mush of bones and brain matter.

Dee had dragged himself back up to his feet and punched Nick in the face, but his fist bounced off his skeleton and Nick gave no indication that it hurt at all, while Dee was shaking out his hand and moving backwards as Nick stalked towards him.

The Crooked Man then spoke "Nick, stop this! This isn't the way to-" The Crooked Man was met with Nick's left hand around his skinny throat and in one swift motion, he squeezed tight and the Crooked Man's head popped off his neck and fell to the floor with a thud along with his lifeless body.

Dee gulped audibly and began trembling in pure fear as Nick grabbed him up by the scruff of his collar and raised him up to his eye level with both hands. Nick opened his mouth wide and breathed a disgusting black and green mist into Dee's open mouth; he dropped Dee suddenly and the large man began choking out a combination of the mist and his own blood, eventually he fell to the floor limp and it became clear that the mist was toxic and was killing Dee from the inside.

Nick turned back around to see that Greenleaf had rushed out the door; he just grinned and followed her. Outside Greenleaf was merely feet away from the Tweedles' car before she felt something hit her in the back and she fell to the ground in pain, Nick had thrown a brick at her.

The dock was quiet and empty, just the way Nick liked it when he did this sort of thing. He grabbed Greenleaf by the hair and pulled her towards the car door, he opened it and placed her head inside before slamming it to, Greenleaf was till groaning slightly afterwards and Nick merely tilted his head to the side in amusement before slamming the door shut completely with his boot and Greenleaf's head was no more.

Nick went back inside his bar and quickly hung up Jersey's head on his wall and reloaded his shotgun before downing a pint glass of aged whiskey. He sighed and then leaned back as 5 white spirits all came and melded into his body, the 5 spirits belonged to the 5 Fables he had just killed.

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah, Nick is a complete psycho but he will hopefully become an interesting one as the story progresses<strong>

**Next time: Bigby goes to relax at the Trip Trap, Cindy investigates the docks and Snow goes to Bigby for help**


	12. Boredom Intensifies part 1

**Boredom Intensifies part 1 – Stake out and night out**

While Bigby Wolf was limping back up to the lobby; Cinderella was driving down to the docks. It goes without saying that both Fables were preparing for boredom.

Bigby kept running over his conversation with Mary in his head; he had never heard of the Nuckelavee. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise though, Bigby had never heard of Bloody Mary before so obviously there were still Fables out there that hadn't become known to them yet; but the way she described Nick made him sound like a force to be reckoned with and surely that would make him known to people.

That's what powerful Fables did right? Make themselves known because their power made them important; Frau Totenkinder was the most powerful witch Bigby had ever met and everyone knew who she was without even meeting her, her name could send chills down people's spines just as much as the Big Bad Wolf's did.

Bigby had finally walked back up to the lobby and noticed that it was 6pm; he had finished off all of his reports and still had 2 days left before he could go back to work again. But the Wolf hated not having anything to do during the day, even a simple walk would be enough to keep him entertained but right now walking was a trial instead of a luxury; TV wasn't interesting as Bigby only really liked watching the idiot box with other people for reasons unknown and right now the person he wanted to watch it with was busy being hassled by the community.

He could always drop in and check on the woman in question but he wouldn't be able to stay for more than a few minutes and that would just remind him of the one thing he was missing in his life right now: company. Then an idea popped into his head _"I could always go to the Trip Trap" _Bigby didn't know why but the idea of sharing a drink with someone felt like a better alternative than just lounging out on a comfy sofa till Snow finished work.

Bigby made his way up to his apartment and went inside expecting it to be trashed; surprisingly it looked pretty much the same with the exception of having even more empty takeout boxes littering the table and surrounding floor. The TV was on and Colin was snoring away in his chair as usual and for once Bigby wasn't going to wake him, he switched off the TV and went to his wardrobe to pick out a coat that wasn't destroyed like his previous one.

Picking out a similar coat coloured dark green, Bigby threw it on and quietly left the apartment; not noticing Colin staring at him silently with one eye open and smiling. Bigby went outside the Woodland's and sparked up a cigarette for the first time since before the ordeal at the metalwork's; he had refrained from smoking in Snow's apartment and his recent bout of exhaustion also helped keep his senses dull, but the inviting taste of the cheap smoke calmed him down and made him feel closer to normal.

Bigby hailed a taxi and climbed inside, telling the driver to take him to the Trip Trap. The ride was peaceful and the driver didn't speak a word to Bigby, maybe because of his bandaged head and the obvious limp he walked with; _"Probably thinks I'm some kind of escaped convict or something"_ Bigby had to pull a half smile at the thought, at least Mundane people were still fearful of him despite his injuries.

The cab stopped outside the bar and the driver silently took the money before leaving; Bigby carefully made his way down the steps and pushed through the door into the brightly lit bar. It had been refurbished since Bigby and Gren had their fight; although the damage report had been submitted, the sudden disappearance of Ichabod Crane meant that it took longer for the funds to be arranged, but Bigby had sped the process along by filling out all the extra paperwork himself.

Gren was sat at the bar minding his own business as usual and drinking down a strong vodka while Holly was clearing away some empty glasses; Bigby did feel a little bad for Holly in a way as her bar had been open for centuries but never seemed to have any customers besides the regulars posted on the wall and they were seldom seen besides Gren and Woody, yet somehow the troll managed to stay afloat in the big city. Holly looked up in pleasant surprise to see Bigby in the bar but also at the state he was in.

"Evening Sherriff, you here for a drink or are you here to entertain me?" Holly spoke sarcastically and with a smile; since the Crooked Man she and Gren had warmed up to Bigby for bringing Lily's killer to justice but Holly had warmed up a little more due to her bar being fixed.

"I'm here cuz I'm bored; a drink would be nice though" Bigby limped over to the bar and took a seat next to Gren, who still hadn't shifted from his position.

"You wanna Midas Gold or a double whiskey?" Bigby only ever had two drinks at the bar so he was pretty easy to serve.

"I'll have both, no lime"

Holly poured out the drinks and took the cash; Bigby was a lot like Gren in that he didn't really speak and minded his own business but still managed to make customers uneasy by sheer presence alone.

Not long into his drinking, the door opened and Jack Horner walked in "Hey Holly, you got those darts yet? I'm really bored right now and I need entertainment".

Holly eyed up Jack and crossed her arms "Yeah Jack I got my darts; now quit pestering me about it"

Jack came up behind Bigby and patted his bad shoulder "Hey Sheriff, I heard you had a pretty rough day yesterday, at the mill"

Bigby turned to Jack with a pained expression and the Fable edged backwards upon seeing his face "Yeah Jack, rough day"

Jack sat down on the stool and continued staring at Bigby's bandaged head "Will it grow back or are you gonna end up like Gren over there"

Gren turned to face Jack "I'm not blind asshole, its part of the glamour"

Bigby remained indifferent "It'll grow back, whether I'm blind or not is another story"

Jack nodded before getting up and retrieving the darts from Holly, he then gestured to Bigby "Play a game with me?"

Bigby downed his whiskey and stood up "Why not"

* * *

><p>O Down at the docks<p>

Cindy had been sat in her car for over 2 hours now; snapping pictures and jotting down notes on everything she saw whilst the radio played an assortment of music quietly. From what she had gathered, the area of the docks she was on was privately owned and had about 30 regular workers that changed shifts constantly and all retreated to the bar in their down time.

If any other folks wandered into the area then they were quickly met with intimidating glares, although pretty women were not so quick to get stopped. Lost in her work, a sharp tapping was heard on her window and Cindy turned to see 3 workers all looking at her intently; she rolled down the window after hiding her work.

"Miss, this is private property and you've been here a long time, you got a reason for that?" The man in front was burly and tough looking like the rest and had a bald head, his breath stank though and Cindy wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell.

"Sorry, I was just relaxing here listening to some music, I wasn't trying to cause any trouble" She was playing the 'cute and innocent' act and was hoping it would be enough to sway the warm-blooded men.

The man in front smiled and blushed a little "No trouble Miss, we just ain't used to having strangers lingering around here you know; lotta expensive stuff travelling through here and we can't afford to have it getting tampered with"

"Oh don't worry sir, I haven't left the car since I got here" She was smiling sweetly now and the man shifted as though he was interested.

The 2 men in the back were minding their own business like guards to a royal; almost as if the man in front was above them in the food chain. Then their barriers faltered without them realising it: the man in front turned and spoke to the 2 behind him in a foreign tongue that Cindy had heard before a very long time ago, it was a strange language that had traces of Dutch and German to it and was very harsh to speak; it was Goblin tongue.

When they finished the man in front looked at Cindy more sternly and spoke "You need to leave now Miss, the Boss will get angry if we stand around here too long". Cindy continued her little charade "Oh I wouldn't want that to happen, I'll just go then, goodbye".

The 3 men walked off towards the bar and Cindy caught sight of a large man with black hair smoking a cigar by some stacked crates and staring at them; she quickly took out her camera and snapped some pictures of him before starting the car and driving off, there were strange things going on in that place and Bigby needed to know about it immediately.

* * *

><p>O The Trip Trap<p>

Bigby had lost the dart game by 100 points, he was right-side dominant and the lack of a right eye meant his aim was atrocious. Jack was rubbing it in his face and Bigby didn't really care but when he continued on he growled and Jack stopped instantly.

The door opened again and in walked Woody; he was met with a less than friendly glare from Holly and Gren didn't even look at him, but Bigby was nice enough to say hello.

"Hey Woody" Woody smiled at Bigby and sat next to him at the bar while Jack began setting up the pool table for a game.

"So, you ok now Bigby?" Woody was concerned but didn't seem to let it show, maybe deep down he still hated the Wolf...

"I'm out of action until Friday and I'm so bored I'm drinking the day away in the best bar in town; but otherwise I feel glorious" Bigby finished his sentence with a drink of his Midas Gold and didn't fail to notice the sly smile Holly gave him at his remark.

Woody nodded his concurrence and sighed heavily, maybe he was being distant for another reason?

Holly walked up to Woody "You gonna order something or are you just here to bother my customers Woody?"

Bigby glanced at Holly for repeating the same sentence that she had spoken to him only months ago "Come on Holly, can't you just forgive him?"

Holly turned to Bigby "Your gonna defend this asshole for lying to me!?"

Bigby didn't even flinch "Yes I am; I get it he betrayed you and Gren by sleeping with Lily behind your backs, but that was between him and her ok, he never hurt her and he wanted to catch her killer just as much as I did! Now I'm certainly no saint but neither is Woody, hell, none of us are! We've all done bad things but somehow we managed to gain forgiveness, so can you please just leave those memories in the dark and focus on getting this man a drink for helping me out yesterday?"

Holly turned away and shook her head; she was contemplating what Bigby had said and Woody couldn't believe that the Big Bad Wolf had defended him a second time in 2 days "Thanks Bigby"

Bigby put his hand to Woody's shoulder and smiled "Don't thank me yet, I'm buying your drink for ya seeing as Beast got your share of the cash"

Holly turned around and nodded slowly "Alright Woody, I guess I can move past it, but were taking this slow ok?"

Woody nodded with a smile "Thanks Holly"

Gren perked up "Hey Woody..." Woody looked at him and Gren turned his head to face him with a half smile "Welcome back"

In amongst it all Jack spoke "Anyone up for a game of pool?"

At that moment Snow burst through the door out of breath and looking worried "Bigby!"

Bigby got up quickly but regretted it nonetheless; his damn leg was still killing him "Snow, what's wrong?"

Snow closed the distance between them and took a moment to catch her breath "My sister's gone missing and I don't know what to do!"

Bigby gestured for her to calm down, though right now he wanted to hold her in his arms "Ok, ok, take a breath and calm down; now tell me what happened."

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: Bigby and Snow look for Rose...<strong>


	13. Boredom Intensifies part 2

**Boredom Intensifies part 2 – The perils of Rose Red**

O Halloween Night

"Come on you two! The night's still young and I'm not drunk enough that I'd do something embarrassing, yet" Rose was somehow succeeding in convincing Cinderella and Briar Rose to join her at some Mundy nightclub for even more dancing and drinking, all 3 women were tipsy from the spiked punch but still capable enough to walk and make sound decisions.

The 3 beauties agreed to a night out and all went off to their respective apartments (although Rose lived outside Bullfinch Street so joined Cindy to her place instead) Cindy donned a dark red dress with a short skirt and some expensive red heels, make-up and tied her hair back. Rose had 'borrowed' a light blue dress of the same design and length and a matching pair of heels but still kept her make-up from earlier and for some reason the devil horns as well.

They met Briar down in the lobby; she had put on a black dress that was more suited towards formal evening wear and black heels, eye shadow and red lipstick, the dress however showed enough skin and cleavage to make a man question his sanity so it could be forgiven in its formalities.

The 3 women hailed a taxi and got a free ride from the driver as he took them to a club that Rose visited frequently; the driver couldn't stop staring at the visions in his back seat and was tempted to drive slower and admire the view until he was met with a wry look from Cindy and continued on in haste, nevertheless he didn't charge them a cent.

Getting into the club was easy as Rose jumped the line and kissed the hunky bouncer on his cheek, he let them in after addressing Rose formally by name and eyed up the other two as they walked in with her. The club was loud and full of people, but the atmosphere was perfect. Cindy and Briar had adapted to the wild tendencies of the Mundane world ages ago and both knew how to party and have a good time; but Rose always had to take things one step further and do something shocking.

The night wore on and Cindy was exhausted at the bar drinking a fancy cocktail and playing hard to get with some yuppie who was bragging about his trust fund and swanky apartment; she perked up after seeing Briar punch a guy in the gut for grabbing at her chest and she quickly left in a huff, Cindy quickly followed her friend outside and talked with her.

"Fuckin' asshole" Briar was still pissed but she would calm down eventually, she did punch the guy after all.

"Well we are the stuff of legends so what did you expect, that he was going to ride up on a horse and offer you his hand in marriage?" Cindy was joking of course and thankfully Briar was chuckling along with her. Since divorcing Charming; Snow and Briar were still clinging on to the hope of a Happily Ever After.

Snow's dream was that a handsome Prince would marry her and take her away to a castle full of riches and servants for the rest of her life; of course now her true love was a reformed monster who loved her dearly. Briar was more realistic in her dream however and wanted a man who could express true love towards her for who she was and not what she looked like. Cindy unfortunately had resolved to living with 'Happily Right Now' she would never marry or become serious with anyone ever again but was content to spend the night or maybe a day with lover's company.

Eventually the two women decided that they should leave and go to sleep; but didn't fail to notice Rose leaving the club with a Mundy, he was young and cute with spiky beach-blonde hair and brown eyes, athletic and obviously in love with himself. They passed it off as something Rose would regret in the morning and left nonetheless. They couldn't have been more right.

Rose and her beau walked arm in arm back to his luxury apartment in the North side of the city; they talked about ridiculous things but mostly couldn't keep their mouths off each other. Upon reaching the expensive-looking apartment, the Mundy finally revealed that his name was Derek and offered Rose a red cocktail.

She took a long sip of the sweet drink, it tasted like strawberries but had a slight hint of aerosol to it as well; before she could question the strange taste, Rose suddenly felt tired and limp and she fell head first to the wooden floor, catching sight of Derek crouching in front of her with an evil grin on his face.

Rose woke to a sharp stinging sensation on her face and realized instantly that she was in an ankle chain and had her hands cuffed behind her back, Derek was still crouching in front of her and appeared to have slapped her in order to wake her up.

The room she was in was a run-down bathroom, it was cold and dark and had small amounts of light coming in through boarded windows; Rose struggled backwards as Derek leaned in and ran a thumb across her lips.

"Where am I?" Rose was terrified; she was convinced that because she was a poorly known Fable to the Mundies that she could die easily.

Derek grinned "You're in a place where no one is gonna find you Rose; your mine now and there's nothing you can do about it" His voice was soft and mocking.

Rose yelled back "So what, am I some kind of a fucking prisoner now!"

Derek gripped her chin "Yes; your my newest whore and I must say" He reached down and began tracing the curves of Rose's chest and hips with a finger "You're quite the find".

Rose spat on him "Fuck you!"

Derek casually wiped the spit away before jabbing Rose in the mouth; splitting her lip and making it bleed.

"You'd better be nice or else I'll have to teach you some discipline" He edged closer to her and Rose pressed herself against the wall as much as she could and turned her head away.

Derek just chuckled at her fear and rose to his feet "You'd better get rested then; first client comes in 2 days" He left the room and locked the door.

Rose began crying her eyes out and struggled with her restraints _"This is it, I'm gonna die here!"_

She couldn't calm down as her sobbing became louder and she yelled to the heavens in the hopes that someone would hear her.

* * *

><p>O The Trip Trap, 1 day later<p>

"I haven't been able to find Rose anywhere and she isn't returning my calls; she always returns them eventually but I've been calling her frantically since yesterday and nothing!"

Snow was now sitting on Bigby's stool while he lent up against the bar, she was panicky but not quite teary eyed, typical Snow.

"Cindy mentioned something about Rose taking her and Briar to a nightclub on Halloween, maybe they can tell us more" Bigby was remaining calm as usual but in the back of his head he still wanted to hug Snow and tell her he would fix this, but right now that would just make things awkward.

Jack suddenly perked up from leaning against the pool table "I think I know which club she went to; she's a regular there so she gets VIP entry."

The pair looked at Jack and spoke at the same time "Which one?"

* * *

><p>O The Lone Star nightclub<p>

Bigby and Snow had returned to the Woodland's for Bigby to get something unknown from his apartment before heading off down to the nightclub. The entry line was already building up and the male customers couldn't help but stare at the raven-haired, pale-skinned beauty as she walked just behind the limping brute.

Bigby walked up to the bouncer at the door; the black-skinned man was taller and bulkier than Bigby and was wearing mirrored shades and he matched Jack's description. "Hey buddy, there's a line" The man raised a firm hand and Bigby stared daggers at him.

"Do you know who Rose Red is?" Bigby had that intimidating look on his face with his furrowed brow, a couple of the people in the line backed away a little in fear of a fight breaking out.

The bouncer crossed his arms again and remained constant "Maybe, why?"

Bigby took a step forward and the bouncer rose up his head, he wouldn't be scared so easily by an injured man.

Bigby moved closer to the man's face and his eyes flashed yellow "You and me need to talk, now"

The bouncer instantly became uncomfortable at the sight of Bigby and hurriedly lead him and Snow inside to the security room; telling the others within to leave.

Snow waited by the door and Bigby continued staring at the man "Who was Rose with last night?"

The bouncer folded his hands repeatedly in front of him and shifted on his feet "How the fuck should I know! Lotta people come through here every night and I don't get paid to remember faces"

"You remembered hers right? So who was she with?" Bigby was losing patience.

The man looked away and then looked back "I can't tell you" He was about to walk past Bigby before the Wolf put his hand to his stomach and effortlessly pushed him back to where he was standing.

"You will tell me or else there'll be problems" The bouncer looked like a cornered animal waiting to be eaten by its predator; exactly the way Bigby wanted it to be.

The bouncer suddenly went to swing at Bigby and he responded by ducking the man's punch and hitting him in the chest with the head of his cane, the bouncer fell to his knees clutching tightly at his chest with one hand and Bigby leant the tip of his cane on the man's other hand, causing him to wince and cry in pain, but the loud music outside meant no one could hear it.

"The guy's name, NOW" Bigby's eyes flashed yellow again and he had a distinct growl in his voice.

The bouncer shook his head once more and looked up in defeat "Ahhh! His name's Derek, some spoilt rich shit; he runs drugs and women for easy money in the North side of town, he probably took Rose to the Sunset Tenement building!"

The building had been renovated years ago but the landlord had abandoned the project after realising he couldn't afford it anymore; it was in the papers for sale and apparently had no buyers.

"Thanks" With that Bigby took a swing at the man's head with his cane and knocked him out before turning to Snow.

"Well at least you didn't kill him" Snow pulled a half smile. "But we'll need the witches to wipe his memory and it won't be cheap"

Bigby shrugged "I'll pay for the spell; I'm the one who interacted with him anyways"

* * *

><p>The 2 left the club and made their way down to the Tenement building; it was all boarded up but Bigby noticed that the lock on the front door had been changed for a stronger one.<p>

Bigby pulled out of his coat pocket the 'thing' he had retrieved from his apartment: An old Mauser C96 chambered in 9mm parabellum; he had owned the pistol since he fought in WW1 and had kept it as a memento ever since, he got the weapon cleaned up and serviced every few months and updated the ammunition yearly.

He casually handed the weapon to Snow and she tensed up at the sight of it "Where the hell did you get that!?"

Bigby looked a little confused "WW1... I don't like using guns so it's for your protection"

Snow looked at him in disbelief "Bigby, I've never used a gun in my life..."

He didn't look impressed "Look, just aim it and pull the trigger, it's not that difficult"

Snow sheepishly took the pistol and kept both hands on it whilst aiming at the ground; Bigby pulled the door open, breaking the lock, and the two stepped inside.

The apartment was filthy and in desperate need of work but it looked as though people had been moving through it and possibly even living in it recently; Bigby quickly sparked up a cigarette at the smell and Snow kept a hand on his good shoulder as he led the way upstairs at a horribly slow pace.

"God damn leg" His voice was a whisper "I'm going to Swineheart first thing tomorrow about this"

Snow replied quietly "I'm still glad you're ok" He didn't respond or turn around but did crack a smile at her concern.

As they moved to the 2nd floor, Bigby could hear someone sobbing and focused his hearing as best he could.

They walked towards a run-down apartment door coloured brown and Bigby forced his way in through the locked door and was instantly met with gunfire, shutting the door in response.

"Get back, get the fuck back!" The voice inside was shocked and desperate (it was Derek).

As Bigby moved the door open again there were more shots and then a couple of audible clicks, he was empty.

Bigby slammed the door open and Snow fired off a round, staggering in shock at the unexpected recoil of the weapon.

Derek quickly ran into the bathroom after the shot barely missed his head and locked the door; Bigby could hear struggling and a women yelling on the other side.

He took the pistol from Snow's hands and shot the lock off the door himself before handing it back to her; he pushed the door open to see Derek holding Rose by the neck tightly as a shield.

"Rose!" Snow aimed the gun but Derek made sure his body was aligned with Rose's, there was no clean shot. Rose was trembling in fear.

"Let her go Derek; there's no need to hurt her" Bigby was the only calm person in the room; he noticed Snow inching closer to Derek with him and he instinctively lowered the gun before taking it from her hands and dropping it to the floor.

"Who the fuck are you people!? Are you cops?" Derek was making no attempt at playing it cool; did this guy really run drugs and women for money?

Bigby noticed Rose's lip and the grip marks on her arms and neck, Derek had obviously been rough with her and Bigby wanted to rip his head off for it. Derek began frantically looking between Bigby and Snow as they edged towards him; he had nowhere to go now.

Derek suddenly shoved Rose into Bigby and made a break for the door, but was met with a sharp kick to the shins by Snow; he fell to the ground and felt a heel dig painfully into the back of his thigh, he glanced up to see it was Snow who was doing it.

Bigby had stumbled back against the wall after Rose collided with him and had to ignore the sudden pains in his shoulder as the 2 regained their composure; Bigby picked up his pistol as Rose ran into Snow's arms and cried into her shoulder, she was overwhelmed with relief that she had been saved.

Derek got to his feet slowly and was lead at gunpoint into the living room by Bigby, who told him to sit down in the chair; Bigby turned his attention back to Snow and Rose "You two need to leave now, I'll take care of this"

Snow grabbed his arm "What are you going to do?" She sounded worried; Bigby knew exactly what she was thinking.

"I'm not going to kill him; but I am going to make him suffer" His gaze was stern and so was his voice; Snow sighed and took Rose by the shoulders and left the building.

Bigby walked back inside and continued aiming the pistol at Derek "Does that phone work?"

Derek looked confused but answered nonetheless "Yeah, why?"

"Pick it up and dial 999 for me" Derek did as he was told and after dialling the number he held the phone to Bigby's ear, the pistol now pressed up against his throat.

"Hello 999? I need the Police."

After a few seconds Bigby spoke again "I need to speak to Detective Kelsey Brannigan please."

After a longer wait the woman in question picked up the phone "Who is this?"

"Detective; you don't know me but I have a story for you down at the Sunset Tenement building; I promise it'll be worth your while."

Bigby had Derek hang up the phone afterwards and took a step back from him "You shouldn't have fucked with us, kid" And then he shot him in the stomach before hitting him across the head.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope this chapter is ok for people; I know Bigby doesn't use guns ever in the comics or the game but I felt like putting this into the story for some reason...<strong>

**Next time: Bigby gets arrested, again!**


	14. Jail Time

**Jail Time – Déjà Vu**

The Police arrived within the hour and by that time; Bigby had cleaned up any evidence of his being there and made it look like a struggle had broken out before Derek got shot and knocked out by one of his prisoner's. There were packets of drugs and other starving and abused women in various other rooms of the building but they weren't Bigby's problem right now.

Bigby was silently waiting amongst the gathering crowd of people who had flocked to the scene; not long after the Police arrived so did an Ambulance and then the reporters and the whole thing turned hectic within minutes. The Wolf smiled to himself and limped off down an alley, he had to get away from the scene and go to sleep before he passed out, it was close to 10pm now and the Woodland's was his port-of-call.

Not even halfway down the alley did Bigby hear frantic footsteps and the sound of something being drawn from a holster "Hold it right there, Wolf!" Bigby stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around to see Detective Brannigan aiming her pistol at him.

"Put your hands up now!" Bigby did as he was told but struggled to stay upright with his bad leg. The Detective moved closer towards him "Turn around and put your hands behind your back" Again Bigby did as he was told; things had now turned to shit.

* * *

><p>O The next morning<p>

Bigby woke up inside a jail cell and instantly felt weird; his sling and cane were both gone and he was now wearing an eye patch instead of bandages, plus he was missing his coat. He sat up on the edge of the flat bed and flexed out his left arm; it didn't hurt anymore but was still feeling stiff and his shoulder was tense and throbbing. He stood up and could put more weight onto his leg but it still kind of hurt _"Looks like I'll still need that cane for a bit"_.

He managed to limp over to the sink and splashed his face with water; the coldness of it was enough to make him briefly forget that he was in a Police station. Not long after he had used the sink, a guard walked up to the cell "Good, you're up, Detective Brannigan wants to speak to you".

Bigby remembered being taken to the station in a police car and was arrested for something by Brannigan; but he had removed all traces of his being at the apartment so surely he couldn't be being charged for Derek's injuries...

Bigby was lead towards the same interrogation room from when Snow White's head was found at the Woodland's months prior; Brannigan was inside and had a notepad on the table. Bigby sat down opposite her and the first thing she did was offer him a Huff n' Puff from his pack.

"Thanks" she sparked up the cigarette for him and sat down, her face was unreadable and it instantly made Bigby nervous.

"Next time you escape from a Police station you should remember to take everything. You left the camera footage of our interview behind and my notepad".

Bigby was cursing in his head; he thought that Crane had removed ALL of the evidence, apparently the dull pervert hadn't realised the interview was being recorded on camera in the adjacent room, then again the spell didn't exactly rub out written words or tamper with Mundy technology either...

Bigby continued smoking; there was no way he was going to tell Brannigan anything.

"How'd you get those injuries?" Brannigan pointed to his eye specifically; he had been told by the doctor to remove the bandages and put on a black eye patch for no particular reason other than the bandages were no longer necessary, apparently his eye wasn't fully healed yet either or else the patch wouldn't be needed.

"Hunting accident, Bears are vicious when you piss them off" He smiled at his lie and hoped that it would annoy Brannigan; he succeeded.

"You think this is funny?

"Yeah, I think it's fucking hilarious that you've arrested me on suspicion of something that I didn't do"

"Oh I didn't charge you for the apartment case; there was no way YOU could've done that in your condition" Bigby wanted to laugh at her response but stifled the urge.

"I'm charging you for escaping Police custody" Well that should've been obvious.

"So how did you do it? How did you make an entire Police station fall unconscious and lose memory of everything that happened in the last 24 hours?"

Bigby leaned back and continued smoking; Brannigan leaned forward and scribbled something down on her pad.

"Magic trick" Bigby smirked and glanced at the mirror next him; he waved at it knowing that a camera was recording the interview on the other side.

"We found a Mauser C96 in your coat by the way; that thing is 70 years old and it's been fired recently, why do you have it?"

"What? It's not illegal to bear arms in the United States."

"You don't have a license for that weapon and its original owner died in WW1; so did you steal it?"

"No; it was taken by my Father from an enemy officer during the war, he kept it as a reminder of his service and passed it down to me when he died a few years back. I have it serviced every few months and sometimes practice with it at the local range when I'm bored."

Brannigan looked unimpressed "But you don't have a license therefore your ownership of that firearm is illegal and you can be charged for that as well; so stop lying to me"

Bigby huffed and took a long final drag of his cigarette before crumbling it between his thumb and index finger and dropping it into the ash tray; blowing the smoke in Brannigan's direction.

"You aren't doing yourself any favours here Mr Wolf, just tell me how you escaped and I might let you go with a warning"

Bigby crossed his arms "Like I said, magic trick" He smiled once more and Brannigan became furious.

"You need to cut the bullshit now you son of a bitch before I throw your ass in jail!" Bigby didn't even flinch.

"I want my phone call now, Detective" Brannigan raised a singular eyebrow and relented.

"I need a drink... so you have 2 minutes."

She led Bigby outside towards the phone on her desk and left him there to get herself a coffee; Bigby had to think carefully about who to call: Cindy would be the first choice but she was already busy with her reconnaissance; Snow would help but he would end up getting plagued with questions afterwards and that wasn't a desirable outcome. Then all of a sudden he thought of the perfect person for the job: Briar Rose.

Bigby called her number and waited with bated breath, if this failed then he would need a contingency plan quickly. Luckily she picked up.

"Hello?" It was 10am and she sounded wide awake, how ironic.

"Briar, its Bigby. Can you and Cindy come down to the Police station at some point in the next 10 minutes please; I could really use some help right now"

"Ok, what kind of help?"

"The 'arrested by Mundies kind of help'; plus I need a memory wipe spell and some extra hands to clean out any evidence."

"Um, ok... I'll do what I can"

Bigby hung up just after Brannigan returned with her coffee; she didn't even bother to bring one to Bigby.

"No coffee for me?" He tried to sound hurt but it wasn't working.

"Come on; we aren't done yet Mr Wolf"

* * *

><p>O 20 minutes later<p>

"Briar, we're late!" Cindy was practically yelling at Briar as they made their way into the Police station; they were followed by Flycatcher, Bluebeard, Boy Blue and Jack.

"Sorry Cindy; I had no idea I would be breaking the Sheriff out of jail when I woke up this morning!" Cindy ignored her and turned to the other's "You all know what to do right?"

The other 4 nodded and then abruptly left as Briar pulled out a small needle and pricked her finger deep enough to draw blood. Within seconds she was fast asleep on the floor; after several long minutes of waiting, large thorns had begun growing outside the station, the group didn't need to act too quickly however as the witches had placed a temporary spell over the station which affected it the same way as Bullfinch Street thus no one would see the station unless they concentrated hard enough on it.

The group made their way through the station and into the interrogation rooms; Bigby and Brannigan were both fast asleep along with every other living soul inside the building. Flycatcher and Boy Blue both took Bigby whilst Bluebeard made sure to take the security tape from the other room and Brannigan's notepad; however he slipped a note telling her to meet him at Bullfinch Street later on.

Jack and Cindy both scavenged through the evidence room and the security footage; making double sure they had removed all traces of Bigby's and their own presence there and then activated the same memory wipe spell that Crane had used before.

The group were in and out in roughly 20 minutes; now the only problem was to wake up Briar...

As the group discussed and argued their predicament; Flycatcher pointed out that he was a prince once and was attracted to the Sleeping Beauty, he kissed her lips and she woke within seconds.

"Ugh, why do I taste bugs in my mouth?" Flycatcher had pulled away pretty quickly and held back his embarrassment as best he could so he wouldn't turn into a frog again; Briar seemed none-the-wiser about it.

Bigby groaned back into consciousness and was helped to his feet by Fly and Blue.

He spoke with a huff "Thanks for breaking me out..." He then noticed Bluebeard "Why the fuck is he here!?"

Bluebeard smirked "I'm the one who paid the witches for their spells Sheriff; so maybe you should be thanking me"

"Don't bet on it" With that he took his cane and walked out into the street with the others and they all made their way to Cindy's car; with Flycatcher opting to ride in the trunk due to the lack of space and Jack choosing to leave on foot.

The group made their way back to the Woodland's and Bigby reminded all of them sternly that what they did never happened and if questioned about it then they knew nothing at all; they understood long before he told them.

* * *

><p>O That evening<p>

Brannigan followed the notes mysterious instructions and made her way to the alley just outside Bullfinch Street. It was cold and she had been standing there for a while facing the Woodland's; had she been paying attention to her surroundings she may have noticed Bluebeard coming up behind her and slitting her throat with his curved dagger.

She fell limp as Bluebeard dragged her corpse back into the alley; turning to his Goblin manservant Hobbes "Get rid of her immediately".

Hobbes nodded "Of course, sir"

Bulebeard's car was parked at the other end of the alley and Hobbes dumped Brannigan's body in the trunk and drove down to the docks; he spoke to the workers in his native tongue and they instantly took the body from the car and dumped it in the incinerator. Cindy had resumed her reconnaissance since then but didn't see Hobbes, Bluebeard's car or the corpse being dragged into the nearby warehouse...

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><p><strong>I promise that the next chapters will get back on track with the main story; I felt like doing a side story for Bigby to pass the time of his recovery instead of soing a simple '3 days later' sort of thing. Anyways I hope people are enjoying this fanfic, I'm certainly enjoying writing it!<strong>

**Next time: Bigby learns more about the docks from Cindy and he reveals a secret to Rose.**


	15. Back On Track part 1

**Back on track part 1 – New information**

**I garuntee that the story is back on track now (hence the chapter title lol) so please enjoy as always!**

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><p>It was still morning by the time Bigby and the others had returned to the Woodland's but they all went their respective ways and spoke nothing of what they had done only a short while ago; Bigby was hoping he would never have to see Detective Brannigan ever again...<p>

Bigby got into the elevator and remembered upon looking down his shirt that he hadn't showered since the morning after Halloween; the dry blood was still there, his hair was greasy and he stank of musk and cigarettes, normally this wouldn't bother Bigby as he lived alone and didn't care much about his outward appearance, but Snow wouldn't be as appreciative and besides, he still had to return his pistol to his wardrobe where it would likely remain unused for the next few decades.

When Bigby reached his apartment Colin was already awake "Where the hell have you been? Snow's been asking around for you..."

Bigby quickly threw his coat and pistol into his wardrobe before sighing and slumping into his chair "Long story"

Colin didn't look impressed "Did you get arrested?"

Bigby looked up in shock "Wait, what?"

Colin smirked and turned on the TV to the local news; a young-looking female reporter was speaking "In breaking news; young socialite Derek Simmons was arrested yesterday evening on charges of kidnapping, drugs possession and human trafficking, after he was discovered injured inside the abandoned Sunset Tenement building. The report came from an anonymous tip-off to local authorities who arrived at the scene momentarily after the call was made to Detective Kelsey Brannigan; an aspiring member of the NYPD who was the subject of an investigation 4 months ago after her precinct fell unconscious and lost 24 hours of its memory-" Bigby switched off the TV and put his head in his hands.

Colin sat down in front of him "It's all over the news and I'm guessing you were the one who made the call to her"

Bigby just nodded and Colin sighed "The rest of the story says that a man in his late 30's with bandages and a limp was also arrested by the Detective after she arrived... and that's obviously you"

Bigby looked up in defeat "Yeah I got arrested, but I got out and nobody got hurt so can you please not tell Snow?"

"You won't have to..." Bigby's gaze shot instantly towards his door which he had carelessly left open just a crack, he was so immersed in the news report that he had failed to notice Snow's intoxicating scent drifting into the apartment.

She walked in and looked strangely relieved; Bigby didn't know whether this was a good thing or not "You're not mad at me?"

Snow shook her head "Blue told me you'd been arrested and I was kind of hoping that you'd call me instead of Briar Rose..."

Bigby felt like an idiot; of course Blue would tell Snow! She was the Deputy Mayor after all...

Bigby fell back into his chair "I should've just left instead of making sure he got caught..."

Snow crouched down beside him and put her hand on his and began drawing circles with her thumb "You brought that sick creep down and without killing him; you did the right thing" She smiled at him.

Bigby was looking at Snow and giving passive glances to Colin and his hand; he was obviously uncomfortable with how close she was to him. This just made Colin laugh.

"Bigby I'm not stupid ok; who else was gonna get into Snow's bed!?" The pair looked at him angrily and the pig immediately stopped laughing but continued grinning "You did pretty good by the way, what with the screaming and..." Bigby's eyes flashed yellow and Snow began to blush in embarrassment, Colin took the hint and excused himself into Bigby's bedroom, shutting the door after him.

Bigby tuned back around to Snow and covered her hand with his as she cupped his cheek and stroked it soothingly "Rose wants to thank you personally by the way; she's up in my apartment resting"

"Does she know about us?"

Snow looked down "No; I didn't think it was a good idea to tell her so soon at the time"

Bigby sighed "Well; I've got some things to do and I feel a lot better since yesterday"

Snow stood up with him "Bigby, you're not going back to work until tomorrow, remember what Swineheart said: full motion in your shoulder and no pain in your leg"

"Yeah, yeah I got it" He walked towards his bathroom and stopped just in front of the door "Um, can I use your shower?"

Snow looked confused "Why?" her voice trailed off.

Bigby looked embarrassed but was convinced his argument was justified "My shower is crap and yours is nice..."

Snow raised an eyebrow at the statement "Rose is sleeping on my couch..."

Bigby rolled his eyes "I'm not gonna walk around naked if that's what you're thinking; besides she can thank me while I'm up there"

Snow blushed and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and shifted slightly on her feet "Ok, fine; but I have to go back to the Office, so if you wake her up then it's your problem".

Bigby smiled "Got it".

Before he walked out the door, Snow grabbed Bigby's shoulder "What is it?"

She smiled sweetly before bringing him in for a passionate kiss, when she pulled away she replied "I love you"

He smiled back at her "I know" and then he left.

* * *

><p>O Snow's apartment<p>

Bigby quietly opened the door and walked in to find Rose fast asleep on the couch; she was covered by a thick satin blanket and had her face buried into the pillows like she was hung-over.

He crept by her and made his way into the bathroom; unfortunately there wasn't a lock on the door so if she walked in then things would get weird quickly. Bigby undressed and was amazed at just how much blood he was still caked with; he pulled off his old bandages to get a look at his wounds.

His shoulder was covered in thick scabs and rough, dry flesh and his thigh had a dent in it covered by scarred skin; he took off the eye patch to discover that the eyeball had mended its shape but was completely glazed over and he still possessed no vision in it. Still he was mending at least.

He turned on the shower and was met with a flush of warm water at a remarkable speed, it felt like bliss against his skin and was washing away the blood like it was nothing; a good scrub with some soap and shampoo had Bigby smelling like a meadow of flowers (he was using a woman's shower after all) but he couldn't care less as he was clean and that's what mattered right now.

He stepped out of the shower and frantically wiped himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist and walking back out into the apartment; he noticed Rose stirring and sat down on the table in front of her. Maybe not the best idea.

As soon as Rose saw him she yelped and quickly covered herself with the blanket; Bigby hadn't quite realised that her dress was nowhere to be seen and she was sleeping in her underwear. He held his arms up in case she lashed out but thankfully she was too frozen against the sofa to move, apparently in shock of him sitting in front of her half naked and slightly wet.

"You ok now, Rose?" He tried to speak calmly but the situation was already awkward enough; Rose's mouth was still hung open and she just nodded slowly, Bigby didn't fail to notice her eyes examining the features of his torso however.

He clicked his fingers at her a couple of times and she shook her head a little before speaking "Um, yeah I'm fine now thanks... Bigby what the hell are you doing in here!? And why are you naked?"

Bigby stood up and limped a little to the side "Would you believe me if I told you that me and Snow are a couple as of Halloween?"

Rose paused at first and then started laughing, burying her face in one of the pillows; she was laughing so hard that tears were coming to her eyes and Bigby didn't look at all impressed.

"Why are you laughing?" Bigby could guess the answer but wanted to hear it from Rose.

Rose eventually calmed down and sat up straight, keeping the blanket just above her chest and her expression changed to one of realisation when she saw Bigby's face.

"Wait, your serious aren't you?"

Bigby nodded bluntly and Rose felt ashamed at her childish outburst, just a little.

"Wow, I thought Snow was going to remain single forever; I mean she hasn't even slept with a guy since her divorce!"

Bigby cocked an eyebrow at the comment "Good to know"

Rose leaned back into the sofa, she couldn't stop staring at Bigby's torso so in response he walked back into the bathroom and returned wearing Snow's bath robe; it reeked of her and Bigby could almost drown in the scent.

"I saw the news by the way; thanks for getting me out of there" Rose smiled and Bigby nodded his concurrence "Well Snow came to me and Jack was the one who told us where the club was"

Rose looked surprised "Jack Horner?"

"Yeah; he told us which club you went to and it was smooth sailing from there".

Rose still looked surprised "Damn, maybe I should give Jack a chance..."

"_Rose Red and Jack Horner together... yeah, that's guaranteed to happen"_ Bigby wasn't appreciative of the thought; Rose was always trying to embarrass Snow and Bigby despised Jack as a person; so putting the two together was like bringing a nightmare to life.

Bigby removed himself to the bathroom and changed back into his clothes before moving to leave the apartment; Rose quickly moved from the sofa and came up to the side of him before he reached the door, she was still holding the blanket around herself "Wait, I wanted to thank you properly" Rose placed a longing kiss to Bigby's cheek before pulling away with a smile and walking back to the sofa, it seemed as though she was still thinking about Jack...

* * *

><p>Bigby reached the floor to the Business Office and was planning on talking to Snow until he caught sight of his office door closing.<p>

He walked inside to see Cindy perched on his desk holding a folder "Where've you been?"

"Showering, is that your info?"

Cindy sat down in the chair as Bigby locked the door and sat down on his chair, switching on the small fan and sparking up a cigarette as he did so.

"Yes, and you will love me forever when you see what I have for you" Cindy and Bigby's flirting was common when they were alone; the two trusted each other so blindly that they could sleep in a bed together and neither would be afraid of the other trying to make a move, if they cuddled then it was for warmth and nothing else, just as it had been for the centuries that the two had worked together.

It also helped that Cindy understood that Bigby wasn't interested in her that way (although she never knew why until recently) and she assumed that Bigby understood that she didn't believe in relationships anymore.

"Ok, so what have you got for me?"

Cindy displayed the pictures of the bar and the large man; Bigby examined the photos and noticed that in one of them the man's eyes seemed to be glowing a fierce yellow "Did he see you?"

Cindy looked at the picture "That's weird; I didn't notice the eyes until now... he couldn't have seen me I was far away and the window's of my car are tinted" The eyes seemed to stop glowing suddenly and the 2 looked at each other before Bigby took his lighter to the picture and watched it burn away in the trash can.

"This guy might be a witch of some kind, but he doesn't look like one"

Cindy leaned back in the chair and responded "Well just because our witches are wise and refined doesn't mean that the rogue ones are necessarily; also he could be a sorcerer..."

Sorcerer's were unheard of in Fabletown as most had died back in the Homelands and their practices were severely limited in the Mundane world due to the amount of privacy that couldn't be acquired for the schools to be set up and gradually they disappeared entirely, but that didn't mean that they were all dead...

"Maybe, but he looks brutish and sorcerers aren't really known for their physicality; unless he's a combat sorcerer but those are even rarer to find seeing as I killed many of them back in the Homelands-"

Bigby looked regretful at his comment and Cindy cooed that it was alright "Hey, the past is in the past Bigby; besides, a lot of those sorcerers's were assholes and got what was coming to them" She smiled at him but he remained unconvinced "It still doesn't justify what I did..."

She put her hands on his own and rubbed them softly "All in the past Bigby; me and most others have forgotten about it and so should you, ok"

Bigby nodded and pulled his hands away "Who works at the docks then? Are they Mundies or Fables using glamour's?"

Cindy seemed to grin "I think they're all Goblins, the language they speak to each other is pretty harsh and sounds like it's from the Homelands; plus these guys can lift things that Mundies would struggle to move across the ground. It only took 8 of the bigger ones to move a shipping container".

Bigby raised his eyebrows and rubbed his covered eye; Cindy perked up "Has it healed yet or..." Bigby pulled up the eye patch and Cindy winced a little at seeing it glazed over "Damn, I feel bad for you".

Bigby leaned back in his chair and continued staring at the notes and pictures on his desk "I want you to do more reconnaissance of the place; try and find out what's in the warehouse and what's inside the bar, but you are not to go after Nick, at least not until we know more". Cindy nodded and quickly packed up her work before unlocking the door and leaving the office.

Bigby sighed back into the chair; he would need to pay the witches a visit to find out more about Nick, although he wasn't about to get his hopes up on that front...

* * *

><p><strong>I can confirm that this Act of the story will have 21 chapters; I have already finished them all but I am just being lazy with my updates :P<strong>

**Next time: Bigby and Frau discuss the Nuckelavee, with interesting results...**


	16. Back On Track part 2

**Back on track part 2 – Good news and bad news**

**We're nearing the end of this Act of the story people! I have started writing the 2nd Act but it's proving to be quite difficult at the moment, I think I'm getting writer's block...**

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><p>The 13th floor of the Woodland's was where the witches spent their days making glamour's and various other spells for the citizens of Fabletown; they charged dear prices for their wares but it was necessary.<p>

The materials needed to make spells, glamour's especially, were rare and the high prices were also to reduce the workload to a limit that could be achieved; it was amazing how some people assumed that it worked like an assembly line on the 13th floor...

Bigby made his way up to the floor and was greeted instantly by the Ozma "This had better be important Wolf, we are busy people"

Bigby paid no attention to Ozma and instantly made his way to Frau Totenkinder's room; the young-looking witch followed behind him "Do you need something, Sheriff?"

Bigby glanced down at her and rested his weight on his cane "Unless you know who or what the Nuckelavee is then no"

Ozma stared at the Wolf before turning away and returning to elsewhere on the floor; whether or not her sudden disappearance meant that she knew of the creature or not was a mystery, the witches were known for their bluntness and secrecy and it could get infuriating at times.

Bigby knocked on the door and was granted entry by an elderly voice "Yes, Gaffer?"

Bigby stepped into the old-fashioned living room to see Frau knitting on her sofa, a pot of hot tea and a full cup sat in front of her.

"Were you expecting me?" Bigby probably knew the answer but nonetheless.

"Gaffer; you never show up here unless you really need something so let's get on with it, I am a busy person"

Gaffer Wolf was a nickname for Bigby by some of the older Fables; it stemmed from how Bigby was also one of the oldest Fables in existence and was also one of the older looking men in the town, at least if 'older looking' meant Bigby facially looked like he was in his late 30's to early 40's, no thanks to his ageless lines and rough stubble of course although moving past that he had the body of a younger man.

Bigby sat down in a chair opposite Frau "Fine; can you tell me about the Nuckelavee?" she stopped knitting and sighed.

"That creature is far beyond you Wolf..."

Now Bigby was interested, what creature could possibly withstand him?

Frau continued "I assume you know the story of the creature as being a sea monster that is afraid of freshwater and that story is true. But Mundane people are prone to forgetting the other parts of the story and the Nuckelavee's past is long forgotten by many; he was created by the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse as the Harbinger of Doom. The creature would inform kingdoms of a terrible fate to come and in the aftermath of its Masters wrath it would be allowed to feast on the souls of those that had failed to find their way through to the afterlife; it was a being of great power to begin with but it quickly grew jealous of its Masters and swore to become greater than them."

Frau took a sip of her tea before continuing "The only way to kill a Horseman is to stab it through the heart with its own weapon and the Nuckelavee did so; beginning with Pestilence, or Conquest as some call it, he killed him in his sleep and took his soul and power as his own and in the same night he killed Famine and stole his power. War discovered the killings and challenged the creature to a fight to the death, but didn't expect him to be so powerful and fought him for 3 long days before finally succumbing to exhaustion and he too was killed.

Frau took a moment to adjust herself on her seat "Death was the oldest, wisest and most powerful of the brothers and sacrificed himself to reduce the Nuckelavee to a wandering spirit that travelled the world looking for its body; it could never find it though as it had returned to the earth by then, so instead it retreated into the ocean where it joined with the sea itself and has remained a legend ever since".

Bigby didn't seem convinced of Totenkinder's story "But Mary claims the Nuckelavee is her Boss..."

Frau sighed once more "She is just toying with you Wolf; the Nuckelavee could come onto land and spread it's malice so long as it wasn't raining and it didn't come into contact with any source of freshwater, the sea likes to remain tainted and free and so does the creature. But it hasn't been seen for more than a century now so I wouldn't worry yourself about it".

Bigby stood up and eyed the witch "And what if it's true..."

Frau looked up and mimicked Bigby's gaze "Then God help us if he decides to come here."

Bigby left the 13th Floor not long after speaking with Frau; he couldn't understand why Mary would inform him that the Nuckelavee was her Boss when he was supposedly dead, he would need to pay her a visit sooner rather than later but right now he needed to talk with Swineheart about his condition.

* * *

><p>O The Knights of Malta Hospital<p>

"Bigby, I told you not to smoke in my Hospital!" The loud and unmistakable voice of Nurse Spratt irritated Bigby more than anything, but he would repeatedly tell himself _"You've reformed and you don't yet people anymore"_ over and over again whenever she was in his presence; it amazed him to no end how a woman as big and ugly as Spratt could have the gall to be so horrible and cruel to other people and expect nothing but kindness and gratitude in return.

"Sorry, Nurse" Bigby didn't stop smoking at first but he did upon reaching the special ward where Swineheart operated on Fables; the man in question was walking though the hall.

"Ah Bigby, how goes your recovery?" Swineheart was holding some medical notes and seemed to crack a smile.

"That's why I'm here"

Swineheart led Bigby to an operating room and instructed him to remove his shirt and jeans.

"Hmm, your wounds have healed up nicely considering..." He then paid attention to his eye "I was unsure of whether it would grow back at all, but I would say that you should regain vision in it again soon"

"Doc; am I really capable of going back to work tomorrow if I still need this cane to walk properly?"

"Bigby, all I can recommend is that you go home and rest until the morning, the more you sleep the faster you heal"

Bigby put his clothes back on and made his way out of the Hospital, his leg was hurting less but he couldn't put his full weight onto it yet and his shoulder was still stiff.

But then the Wolf remembered something that he liked to do for passing the time that didn't involve solid ground.

* * *

><p>O The Woodland's, King Cole's penthouse<p>

Mayor Cole had once again gone away on urgent business but was due to return in the next week or so, his penthouse apartment could be accessed by anyone but no one in the Woodland's was cruel enough to steal from it; although Bigby did take liberties.

The Wolf frequently used the Mayor's pool when he was away and for the many years he had been doing so Cole didn't seem to notice, or at least if he did then he had never spoken to Bigby about it; who knows, maybe the Mayor was afraid that Bigby would react violently towards him if he confronted him about it...

Bigby stripped down to his briefs and breathed in the crisp winter air before diving headfirst into the pool; the water was cold but quickly warmed up to Bigby's body heat as he swam lengths of the pool both above and below the surface.

Bigby didn't know how long he was swimming for as he was running through everything in his head and went into auto-pilot. Nick was the interesting one in all this and Mary was the link to him, obviously she was the next thing to take care of although how helpful she would be would depended on her mood and not Bigby's, but the Wolf could be very persuasive when he wanted to be...

Bigby removed himself from the pool and dried himself down with a white towel before removing his briefs and morphing straight into the Big Bad Wolf; he stretched himself out and curled up on the ground tightly so as not to damage anything and drifted into a peaceful slumber, his reasoning for changing form was the theory that as his powers were weakened when he took human form then everything, including his healing, should surely return to its maximum strength as a full wolf.

He didn't get to sleep for long however as he felt something poking him in his front leg and he slowly opened his eyes to see Flycatcher was poking him with his broom.

"Bigby, you're not supposed to be up here and you're definitely not supposed to be a Wolf!"

Bigby got up and stretched out again with a gaping yawn before changing back into a human. Final verdict: he didn't feel that much better since transforming so obviously his healing wasn't affected as much as he hoped it would be.

"C'mon Fly; no one can see me up here and I'm not forbidden from changing form! It's just frowned upon..."

Fly turned away as Bigby got dressed again "You aren't gonna tell Snow are you?"

Fly turned around and shook his head "No; you'd never hear the end of it if I did"

The two men chuckled briefly before making their way back down to the lobby, it was around 4pm now and Bigby still wanted to 'talk' with Mary.

* * *

><p>Once again moving down to the cells; Bigby looked inside Mary's cell to find her pacing back and forth.<p>

He stepped inside but locked the door behind him "You lied to me"

Mary stopped pacing and sat down on her bed "About what?"

Bigby looked frustrated "About Nick; I spoke with Totenkinder and she tells me that he's dead"

Mary looked amused "And your gonna believe an old witch over me? C'mon Wolfie, you know me, I've never lied to you before" And come to think of it she hadn't...

"I think you're sending me on this wild goose chase just to mock me!"

An angry Bigby slowly morphed into his 2nd form and Mary's expression turned more serious "If that's how you wanna do this then you're gonna need more help, tough guy" Mary began to slowly change as well as shards of glass began protruding from her body and her skin became pale with satanic markings appearing all over.

Bigby and Mary stared at each other like they had done only yesterday, except know they were sure that one of them was going to die...

"What's going on down here?" The 2 Fables quickly looked towards the door to see Snow standing outside with Grimble.

Grimble spoke "Bigby, can you open the door please?" Bigby had taken Grimble's keys both times he had gone to the cell but always made sure to bring them back; maybe Grimble woke up and saw that they were missing this time around...

Bigby unlocked the door but as soon as he opened it, Mary shoved him and quickly ran out the door; Bigby managed to catch her leg before she could start sprinting and she fell to the ground, as soon as she got up she was caught by Grimble, who had now removed his glamour and reverted back to the large troll of Billy Goats Gruff fame, thankfully the hall was big enough for him to fit.

Mary thrashed about in his one-handed grasp but her endless slashing and writhing didn't seem to be doing much to the great brute as he tossed her back into the cell and shut the door before Bigby locked it again; Grimble put his glamour back on and cracked out his neck before exhaling deeply "Haven't had to do that in a while" he was smiling now.

Bigby changed back into a human form and Snow gave him a questioning look "Sheriff, what were you doing in there?" Of course Grimble didn't know about them so once again Snow had to revert back to her old self.

Bigby looked at Mary still in her true form grinning at him and hissing through her teeth as she breathed, in truth she did look quite scary...

"I was going to question her about something and I was ensuring that I could defend myself if need be" It wasn't the truth but it wasn't technically a lie either.

"Sheriff, you should have brought someone with you to keep her restrained or at least taken her to the interrogation room; you nearly gave her a chance to escape!" Snow was a little angry but not quite furious.

Bigby stared at her "But she didn't escape, so everyone wins"

That didn't help the situation "Sheriff, if you can't do your job right then I'll have to find someone who can until you remember how; you're supposed to be on medical leave anyway"

Bigby sighed "Fine, I'll leave her alone until my leave ends, but I had the situation under control, Miss Mayor"

He walked straight past Snow and handed Grimble his keys; Snow watched him leave and shook her head before turning her full attention to the monster in the cell "What were two you talking about?"

When Mary spoke her voice was lower and breathy and seemed to echo by itself "Nick is going to have a lot of fun with him when the time comes, princess"

That was all she said as Mary changed back into her human form and flopped casually onto the bed with her back turned to Snow.

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><p><strong>Another warning that the next chapter will contain smut and fluff near the end, it is nowhere near as gratuitous as Chapter 3 though...<strong>

**Next time: Bigby and Snow 'make-up' and Cindy goes back to the docks and meets Nick...**


	17. I'm Sorry

**I'm Sorry – Snow and Bigby**

**This chapter title is meant be Snow's apology btw; it isn't me saying I'm sorry to you guys cuz I wrote more smut...**

* * *

><p>She didn't mean to make him feel bad, but Bigby had a tendency towards taking matters into his own hands when he was clearly not in a position to make ends meet; if he had fought with Mary then she may have ended up winning due to his weakened state, but then again the Big Bad Wolf had won fights whilst injured before...<p>

Snow returned to the Business Office and didn't see Bigby for the rest of the working day; it was strange to think that she kind of missed him even though he was most likely in the building doing something pointless to pass the time, as soon as he got better he would be out doing his own thing and keeping the community safe again.

But now that they were together, Snow couldn't help but feel more scared for her Wolf's safety; she had been afraid for him in the past but now her fear was multiplied by the idea that she would once again lose her love to a cruel act of fate and once again she would end up alone.

The thought of his death made her tremble slightly and Snow shook her head at the concept, she knew better than to think that Bigby could be killed by anyone so easily! In the past it only ever amounted to close calls and Swineheart telling Bigby what seemed like a million times that the next time he saw him would be in the morgue and each time he would prove him wrong by healing up and carrying on like nothing had happened.

Snow decided that tonight she would try and make him feel appreciated; of course her little plan would mean getting Rose out of her apartment (if she was still there at least) and trying something new...

Snow decided to take early leave after Boy Blue informed her that the line of people had dissipated and the paperwork was low; it was nearly 7pm but a particular shop was likely to still be open. Snow threw on a light grey trench coat that she had owned for several years and left the Woodland's into the street, hailing a taxi.

The taxi ride seemed to take ages until Snow told it to stop only a block away from her destination: a designer lingerie shop that Snow had been inside a couple of times in the past, but since seeing Lily's corpse wearing silk lingerie from the same store she had stayed away from it as it brought back too many memories; memories of Crane desiring her in a variety of lewd and disgusting ways and of Bigby cheekily commenting on the attire in a masked way of asking Snow if she would wear such a thing in her daily life.

Looking back on it; Snow had to admire Bigby's confidence in asking her but also how calmly he had related the question to the case by seeing if the glamour accurately mimicked clothing, she was even more grateful to herself that she had replied no seeing as Crane would've probably added it to his long list of perversions.

Snow entered the store and began looking around for something in her size; she was a curvy woman and knew how desirable she was to men but Snow wasn't one for flaunting everything in one place like Holly with her short and revealing dresses, out in public she was formal and sexy in a smart way, but in private she would do and wear whatever the hell she wanted to. Snow was ironically a winter thanks to her raven hair and pale skin and therefore dark clothes suited her well, but she found something opposite to that near the back of the shop: a silk baby doll coloured silvery white and it matched her measurements perfectly.

Snow moved to the changing room and undressed herself completely before trying the attire on and letting her hair pool down her shoulders; the baby doll had a see-through torso below the chest which was parted down the middle to allow it free movement and the panties were frilly. She imagined herself sashaying up to a shirtless Bigby and pressing herself against his perfect abs as he breathed in her ear and stroked her body with his calloused hands; she shuddered a little at the thought and thanked god that she wasn't losing her composure to it... at least not right now.

Snow re-dressed herself into her work clothes and bought the attire without a second thought.

* * *

><p>Bigby continued to walk away from the scene; he was annoyed at how Snow had spoken to him but in a way she was right, he was about to start a fight (which he may well have ended up losing) and then Mary would be gone once again. Sulking was something Bigby did quite a lot when he felt like the bad guy again but right now he felt surprisingly calm, maybe Snow getting him to leave was the best idea and as much as he hated to admit it, she did make the best choice.<p>

He would've likely ended up getting injured even more and then Swineheart would keep him in the Hospital until he was better and Bigby would've no doubt spent the whole day trying and failing to escape his confinement so he could go another round with his enemy. It was so easy in the past when his prey was weaker and afraid of him, back then the great Wolf won all of his challenges; except the one against his mighty Father the North Wind.

7 times Bigby tried to eat him and 7 times he was carried away by the winds his Father controlled, Bigby had sworn to never think of his Father ever again since his final attempt.

It was coming up to 6pm now and Bigby hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday; not that it would be much of a surprise to him as Bigby was used to skipping meals regularly but right now he could hear his stomach growling in his chest.

He could go to his apartment and order a takeout as per the usual or he could raid Snow's kitchen for something; or maybe he could be more normal and grab something from the I Am The Eggman Diner. Bigby had eaten at the diner many times before and its owner Vulco Crow had always been respectful towards him.

Bigby exited the Woodland's and crossed the street to the diner, he noticed that it was colder now and remembered that he had gone the whole day without his coat, not that he really needed it but Bigby kept up appearances to draw attention away from himself. He entered the diner to find it half full of people, all Fables, eating and drinking and talking; he himself didn't go unnoticed as he caught sideways glances here and few odd whispers there as he walked up to a table by the window without a word or look to anyone.

The whispers were mostly about his work conduct (like he cared about how other people thought he did his job) but some were about his reformation and newest injuries, so maybe the town was finally warming up to him, it had only taken nearly 3 centuries for it to do so!

A young waitress walked over to him and Bigby caught a whiff of fear from her as he looked up at her green eyes, she must've been new on the job; he ordered a mixed grill with a beer and the waitress left faster than she had appeared. Bigby continued to stare out the window and suddenly in amongst the smells of people and cooking he caught a change in Snow's scent; it was arousal he smelled, what was she doing? Thinking of him and her in private? Unlikely, considering the mood he had put her in just a moment ago, then again who else would she be thinking of being with...

He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed a black and white mess with blonde hair sitting across from him trying to get his attention; it was Cindy in her black and white coat.

"Bigby, hey, you still with us?" Cindy snapped her fingers close to his ear and he shook his head a little before meeting her gaze.

"Sorry, what's up?"

Several customers had noticed Cinderella talking with the Big Bad Wolf and Bigby overheard one or two of them commenting on how the two of them were probably banging headboards in the middle of the night or secretly seeing each other, people can be so prejudiced sometimes...

"I went back to the docks and found out that the warehouse doesn't have anything running through it! It has a working incinerator but everything in there is just old cargo, nothing illegal or magical and it's all Mundane stuff."

Bigby narrowed his gaze and his right eye twitched a little as he did so "What about the bar?"

"I had to leave after I snuck into the warehouse, so I'll go back there tomorrow morning and get a good look inside"

Bigby's food and drink arrived and the waitress relaxed a little at the sight of Cindy; who abruptly stood and left with a simple wave goodbye.

Bigby finished his meal and ate slowly as he had done with Snow's chicken dinner and savoured the new flavours that he hadn't noticed before from the various meats that had been served up for him.

* * *

><p>Bigby returned back to the Woodland's and caught sight of Rose leaving as he walked in; she didn't say anything but gave him a wink as she walked by, it was obviously for his benefit but what it really meant was a mystery to him.<p>

It was now close to 8pm and again Bigby caught the change in Snow's scent, the arousal was back and Bigby was sure that he was the one being thought about and for once he wouldn't have to sit in his apartment and suffer its temptations.

He made his way up to Snow's apartment and walked inside to find it dark and seemingly empty; damn, he could've sworn the scent was coming from there... then he heard the door close.

Standing behind him wearing the sexiest lingerie he had ever seen was Snow, her hair was down, her face was full of mischief and her eyes were filled with desire.

"I'm not sorry I scolded you; but I don't want you to think I'm still mad at you" She smiled sweetly and he instantly forgot what had happened only hours ago.

The outfit was enticing to say the least and Bigby instantly dropped his cane and started to unbutton his shirt before Snow grabbed his wrists to stop him and instead lead him hand in hand towards her bedroom.

Once they were inside, she turned around and melded her body against his own as their lips connected and she slowly urged him backwards against the wall.

"_Please don't be a dream, please don't be a dream"_ He repeated that in his head over and over for fear that if he opened his eyes he would wake up in his apartment in a sweat...

The pair kissed for the longest time as Snow slowly unbuttoned his shirt and it fell to the ground; Bigby pulled away and breathed in her ear as his hands roamed the exposed skin of her body and her own traced his abs, much like her thought from earlier.

"I thought I was never getting sex again?" He whispered huskily.

Snow giggled "You must have this effect on me"

He smiled at her as she unzipped his jeans and they fell to the floor as well as Bigby kicked of his shoes and socks.

He pulled her closer to him and Snow could feel his hardness pressed against her as Bigby began to delicately kiss all over neck, he kissed the dip of her collar bone and she moaned ever so slightly; Bigby began to suck on the same spot and Snow tangled her hands in his hair to pull him closer as she melted with everything he was doing to her.

The tables had turned now as Bigby unclasped the top of the outfit and it fell to the floor slowly; Snow's arousal grew as she felt her bare chest pressed up against the inviting warmth of his own and Bigby dipped his head lower to suck on her breasts, his teeth gently biting at her nipples as Snow began to moan in pleasure.

She pulled his head back up and reconnected their lips as he hoisted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her like this to the bed; they fell onto it and Snow tried something new. She flipped Bigby and pulled away from him before pulling off his briefs, once again admiring his size and thickness, before slowly pulling off her panties and moving around the side of the bed.

Bigby lay there on his back watching her like a hawk and Snow leaned down to kiss him once and then clambered on top of him with her face hovering over his crotch; she had gone into the 69 position. As she began to stroke him and lick his tip, Bigby ran a finger down the middle of Snow's modesty and teased her clit with his thumb as he slowly started to lick away at her.

Snow began to moan at the familiar ache and she retaliated by taking Bigby all the way in and sucking slowly; Bigby groaned in protest at her slow speed and responded by stopping his actions altogether, Snow tried her best grind her hips against his face but it wasn't the same. She retaliated by sucking him faster and squeezing her thighs around his head.

Bigby grabbed her ass with both hands and squeezed her buttocks as he shifted his tongue as far inside her as he could and then licked deep into her at an intentionally slow pace; Snow gasped and squirmed whilst sucking him and could feel herself reaching her peak quicker as a result.

She came before he did and muffled the sound of her release against his length still in her mouth, Bigby lapped away at her juices before lifting her off of him and laying her flat down on the bed, he gripped himself and entered her slowly from behind. Snow gasped as he entered but she was too overcome with excitement to care about what little pain she was experiencing from his length.

Bigby filled her to the brink before lying on top of her back and lacing his fingers with her own as he pulled out and thrust into her again and again, kissing the back of her head and whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

Eventually he picked her up so she was on all fours before placing his arm around her stomach and pulling her torso up; he continued to thrust into her as he groped her breasts and placed open mouthed kisses to her neck and cheek before she turned her head enough to lock lips with him and clash her tongue against his own.

Snow gasped louder and louder until Bigby released inside of her just before she could reach her peak a second time; but he wasn't going to let her down. He moved a hand down to her clit and teased it with his fingers as he thrust into her more slowly, she gripped the hair at the nape of his neck and gasped and moaned into the night as he made her reach her peak again.

Snow fell forwards in exhaustion and the two found their way under the sheets and snuggled close; her head resting in the crook of his shoulder as early sleep found them and they drifted off in each other's arms.

* * *

><p>The alarm went off at 6am and was silenced as it started by Bigby, who was already awake. He looked down at Snow and kissed her head and she stirred slowly into consciousness.<p>

"Hey you" He smiled at her and she shifted up to meet his gaze.

"Hey" She smiled sweetly as she brought her lips to his and the two became lost in each other's affections as their hands moved through each other's hair.

They pulled away and Snow rested the side of her head against his own and stared at the ceiling with him in blissful silence.

"I want this to last forever" Bigby glanced at her and smiled "Hopefully it will" he gave her hands a squeeze.

"I guess you can go back to work now, Mr Wolf" Snow turned her head to face him and he mimicked her action "Mr Wolf huh? Well, Ms Deputy Mayor I look forward to it..."

Snow put her leg over his and Bigby didn't know what possessed him, but he gently dug his fingers into Snow's ribs and she squirmed and giggled as he held her there and tickled her relentlessly.

"Stop it! Stop it!" She was giggling like crazy now and Bigby was grinning evilly the whole time "Am I Mr Wolf or am I Bigby?"

In amongst the squirming and laughing, Snow had managed to turn her back to him but couldn't keep his hands from touching her sides the way they did "Ok, ok, you're Bigby! You're Bigby!"

He stopped torturing her and she turned around panting with red cheeks and a cute smile; he himself was smiling as well. She kissed him again with longing and pulled away to gaze at him "Mr Wolf"

Before he could grab her again Snow rolled out of the bed and practically ran into the bathroom; Bigby was chuckling away to himself but he wasn't going to follow her.

Bigby sat up and found movement in his shoulder again; it still had scabs on it but looked a lot more normal and it didn't hurt anymore though it was still a little tense; his leg no longer had a dent but there was still some scarring. He stood up and could finally walk on it again, though there was an underlying sensation of pain if he stood on it for too long.

He threw on his clothes and got a drink of water from the kitchen before grabbing a leftover sandwich that Blue had brought him from the fridge; going back to work sure sounded like a good thing but he would eventually have to deal with Nick and right now he knew nothing solid about him.

* * *

><p>O The docks<p>

Cindy had arrived early to see the large man in the photo smoking outside his bar once again; she was wearing a white hoodie and jeans and didn't like the bitter coldness of the morning at all.

"Morning Miss" Nick perked up at seeing Cindy; he was wearing his usual clothes but had put on a long, black leather trench coat with a velvet hood to give the impression that the cold actually bothered him, but just like Bigby however, it didn't.

"Um, morning; do you know who the Boss is around here?" Cindy was playing the 'lost and don't know anything' game and was praying that it would work on the imposing and hunky figure in front of her.

Nick finished off his cigar and cracked out his shoulders "Well sweetheart that would be me"

Cindy was amazed at the man's appearance; he was devilishly handsome and his eyes were two different colours, plus he was butch like a body builder...

"Oh" Well now she felt a lot more nervous, this guy was Nick!

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: Cindy and Nick throwdown!<strong>


	18. Fist Fight! part 1

**Fist fight! part 1 – Cindy vs. Nick**

**Here you go dear readers: My Devil vs the badass Cinderella...**

* * *

><p>Cindy was led into the bar by Nick after suggesting that they get out of the cold; the bar was large, warm and completely empty.<p>

Nick removed his coat and Cindy stared at his heavily tattooed and muscular arms as he moved behind the bar and offered her a drink.

"It's a little early for a drink isn't it?" Cindy cocked her head to the side and pulled a sweet smile; Nick just chuckled before pouring himself a shot of whiskey.

"Everything in moderation I say; what's your name sweetheart?"

Cindy shifted a little under Nick's gaze and lied like a pro "It's Sarah; and you are?"

Nick leaned back, drank his shot and smiled "Nick; my name's Nick"

"So; how long have you been open here?" Making conversation could be an effective way of getting information, sometimes.

"Been open around 8 years now, didn't have good business at first seeing as I run the place by myself; but the boys can get their kicks in here and I don't ever close".

Cindy looked confused "But don't you need to sleep?"

Nick leaned forward again and stared into her eyes; right through to her soul "Let's not act like Mundane people here, Cinderella; you and me are both Fables and you've been snooping around here for the last few days; I don't like that."

"_How the hell did he now about that? It must've been that weird photo..."_ Cindy sat up straight and decided to drop the act altogether "Fine, you caught me, congratulations; so what do you do around here, Nick?"

"I do whatever the hell I want and your Sheriff doesn't know a thing about it; but specifically I just help move stuff and make sure the boys outside do as their told and get shit done properly, unlike a certain few..."

Cindy narrowed her gaze "What do you mean by that?"

Nick picked up an Ace of Spades from a deck underneath his bar and started performing sleight of hand with it as he spoke; quickly pointing to the horse skull with deer horns on his wall, Jersey's head.

"You won't be able to find the Jersey Devil, the Crooked Man, Aunty Greenleaf or the Tweedle brothers anymore; I killed them all for their incompetence and disposed of them in my incinerator outside; Jersey's head makes a nice trophy though don't you think?"

Cindy looked towards the mounted head and her jaw dropped slightly; she hadn't noticed it until now...

"What the hell are you?" She wanted to know for report purposes mainly.

Nick didn't move an inch "I am the Devil himself; I like to visit the Mundane world every now and again; I can move to and from the Homelands as I please you see, it's a little thing called black magic"

Black magic was forbidden to witches as it was known to be too difficult to control and the effects that it had on people were catastrophic; but Nick couldn't be a witch...

"Magic? Are you a witch or a sorcerer?"

Nick seemed amused at the statement "I'm the Harbinger of Doom for the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse and now you know too much; it's a shame really, you're so cute to look at and your precious Wolf will want you to report back to him now, but you're not goin' anywhere"

Nick reached under the bar for something after putting the card neatly into his jean pocket; Cindy was perceptive enough to notice his subtlety and she herself began to reach slowly for her pistol, an M1911 standard-issue.

In a flash Nick brandished a large trench knife from under the bar and went to slash at Cindy's head; she leaned back and pulled out her pistol to fire off a shot, Nick tilted to the side and the bullet went straight past his head as he reached up his other hand and snatched the weapon away from Cindy's hands and went to stab at her from above.

The knife became wedged in the bar and Cindy took a swing at Nick's head, her fist pounced off it and she moved off the stool when he lunged to grab her; Nick hopped the bar and towered over Cindy before taking up a fighting stance similar to a boxer's. Cindy went in with a high kick and Nick blocked it before going in with a jab and a hook, she leaned back and ducked under the attacks and hit him in the crotch and rose up to uppercut him. He didn't make a noise when she hit him in the crotch and didn't move when she hit him in the chin; he grabbed her, picked her up and threw her across the room and she rolled along the floor when she landed.

He walked towards her and Cindy grabbed a stool and smashed it over his head, this time Nick staggered a little and Cindy went to stomp on his knee from the side, again it didn't budge and Nick retaliated by punching Cindy in the ribs so hard she crippled to the floor and he kicked her in the stomach while she was down. Cindy was so overcome with pain that she couldn't do anything but squirm as Nick picked her up by her hair and punched her in the face a couple of times before chucking her into the ceiling and letting her fall to the ground limp. He was about to walk away but heard her struggling to get to her feet and turned back around amused; she had closed the distance however and dug her thumbs deep into his eyes.

Nick cried out as pungent, black blood began to seep from his eyes and Cindy grabbed the knife from the bar and stabbed him in the head with it; he seized up and fell to floor in a heap and after catching her breath she retrieved her pistol and limped away. Then she felt pain and saw the tip of the knife protruding through her chest and Nick turned her around and head butted her before punching her in the gut so hard she threw up her breakfast and fell to the floor; she felt something painfully hit her in the back of the head and she blacked out, Nick had stomped on her; _"Well, can't win em' all"_ That was her last thought before everything went dark...

* * *

><p>When Cindy woke up she was on a ship; but it wasn't a modern ship, the whole thing was very big and made of wood and Cindy noticed that she was surrounded by Goblins, with Nick crouching in front of her with a grin on his face, it almost seemed to be stretching from ear to ear.<p>

"You're on my ship in case you were wondering, I call it The Adversary. He tried to get me to join his empire you know, but... well I don't like being told what to do by other people so I decided to name this glorious Man-O-War after him instead".

Cindy felt pain all around and noticed very quickly that it was midday, her hands and feet had been tied up with ropes and she was in her underwear; "Where... what..."

"It's about 1pm and you've been out cold for hours; don't try and struggle princess, I tied those knots myself and you can't get away from me now..."

Cindy was in too much pain to struggle, but she wasn't going to beg for mercy or pray to God, it wasn't her style.

"Why... am I... still alive?" Nick raised his eyebrows in interest at her response "Well, well someone's a perceptive one. I ain't gonna kill you; well at least I ain't intending to... but I am gonna send a message to your Sheriff"

Cindy was picked up and taken to the side of the ship; it was a very long way down into the ocean and she was nowhere near the dock, she could see it faintly in the distance however.

"My ship is 'designed' to not be noticed by anyone Mundane and what's better is that it deters those particular people away from it for reasons that they can't explain; it's my own special kind of glamour you see and one that your witches can't make themselves as the ingredients are found only in the Homelands."

He brought his lips to her ear and whispered "Now, here's the deal: if you live then you tell your Sheriff to give me back ma girl Mary and I won't kill him and the rest of your worthless town in one night; but if you die... well I hope you don't otherwise I'll have to deliver the message myself and I'm kinda lazy that way"

A rope was then attached to her ankles by Goblins hanging off the edge of the ship; she dreaded what was to come now and she wished that she had listened to Bigby and not tried to deal with Nick by herself.

"Enjoy gettin' keelhauled!" And with that Nick kicked her into the ocean; the rope was dragged quickly and the hull of the ship was covered completely in barnacles and other types of marine growth, Cindy screamed in agony as she felt her back get ripped to shreds by the hull and struggled for breath at the same time as she was pulled under to the other side of the boat and back onto the deck.

Nick and the others were laughing at her mockingly as she continued to cry and scream in pain and cough and gasp for air as her entire back was cut up deep, bleeding profusely and she felt herself blacking out again; Nick pulled her head up by her now-loosened ponytail and growled at her "You should've stayed away" He dropped her head to the ground again and splashed a bucket of cold seawater onto her back; it stung like crazy and Cindy's screaming only continued as she was reduced to a sobbing mess on the ground.

* * *

><p>Nick instructed the Goblins to return the ship back to the dock; upon reaching it he walked briskly back into his bar and picked up his phone and dialled in a number "Hello, Doctor Swineheart? You need to come down to the docks as soon as possible please..."<p>

"Who is this?"

"You don't want to know; but I would suggest you hurry unless you want to want Cinderella to die slowly and painfully" He hung up afterwards and rubbed the top of his head where Cindy had stabbed him, the wound had fully healed already but he had to admire the blonde's impressive skill against him.

He also wondered how he would match up against the Wolf; he had heard all the stories from the Homelands and all of them impressed him to no end, fighting against entire hordes of the Adversary's men and coming out of it all without to so much as a scratch, killing dragons of incredible power. Was the Wolf a Great Power in disguise? He doubted it as that truth would have come out by now; but then again not everyone in Fabletown had truly discovered their full potentials just yet...

Swineheart drove down to the docks to discover Cindy laying face down in her own blood and tears on the edge of a different pier; he wrapped her up carefully and placed her back into his car before quickly driving back to the Hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>Well I ruined Cindy (kinda) Next chapter will be uploaded either later today or early tommorow, I have already written it but I want to keep up the suspense :)<strong>

**Next time: Bigby makes final preparations for his date with Snow and The God of Wolves throws down viciously with the Harbinger of Doom!**


	19. Fist Fight! part 2

**Fist Fight! part 2 – Nick vs. Bigby**

**2 Chapters in one day just like I promised! Hope you enjoy...**

* * *

><p>Snow had come out of the shower to find Bigby already gone from her apartment; she was a little saddened by his sudden absence but a note on the table lifted her again: <em>Sorry I couldn't stay any longer; I have some stuff to do and I want to get it all done before tonight, I'll pick you up at 8 and I promise I'll pay for everything. P.S I probably won't see you at all until then just in case you wanted to talk to me at some point today.<em>

Snow smiled at the note and went about her usual morning routine; but she couldn't stop thinking about her upcoming date with Bigby. He would almost certainly take her somewhere nice and would try and make it the best night of her life, but deep down she would've been just as happy sharing a home-cooked meal with him, she couldn't bring herself to ask why, but her newfound love made her happy just to be in his company...

Although this date would show everyone in the town that things were happening between them and as happy as she was that it was happening; Snow was still afraid of the rumours and comments that would arise in the aftermath.

* * *

><p>Bigby walked down to his apartment and went inside to kick off his clothes and change into his usual attire: a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black slacks, a loose black tie and black loafers. He checked his eye in his bathroom mirror and to his pleasant surprise, the retina, iris and cornea had almost fully healed and he once again had his vision back though it was a little blurry, <em>"Swineheart was right about the 3 days rest then..."<em>

Colin was sound asleep on his chair but Bigby couldn't care less as he closed the door and walked down to his office; there was no one waiting inside and the stack of paperwork he had to do was minimal so he sat down in his chair, sparked up a cigarette and went to work.

Not even 4 hours later had Bigby finished his paperwork and no one had bothered him with problems; now it was time to get the arrangements of his date in order: the first thing Bigby did was make a house call to Beauty and Beast, assuming that they would know of a classy restaurant nearby that could still have reservations available.

He knocked on the door a couple of times and it was answered by Beast "Oh, hey Bigby, your looking better" He was smiling.

"Yeah thanks; look Beast, do you know of any fancy restaurants that might still have reservations for this evening?"

Beast looked surprised "Uhhh... yeah, why?"

Bigby sighed "I have a date tonight..."

Beauty appeared behind Beast as if on cue and shared his look of amusement and shock; Beauty spoke "Who's the lucky girl?"

Bigby didn't know if she was being sarcastic or genuine, but he didn't really care "It's a secret for now... Look do you know any or not?"

Beast and Beauty both whispered to each other quietly behind the door and for once Bigby couldn't quite hear them, Beast then spoke "There's a 5 star place we like to go to sometimes a few blocks South of Bullfinch Street and if you mention us you might get a better chance of getting a reservation"

Bigby cocked an eyebrow at the statement "How do I 'mention' you exactly?"

Beauty spoke then "We go there under the names of Brian and Bethany Blake when we have the cash to afford it; we always tip generously and they treat us like royalty there"

"_Oh, of course that's why they would remember them..."_ Bigby glanced between the two and spoke "Ok, I'll go there now and try and get a table"

He was about to walk away when Beast caught him by the shoulder "Seriously though Bigby; who're you going with? I promise I won't judge if you tell me"

Bigby could play that game as well "I told you, it's a secret; but if you're perceptive enough then you'll see us around there at 8 o'clock tonight"

Beast shook his head as if to say 'you're strange' at the comment and said his goodbyes before closing the door.

Now Bigby had to get the present; he wanted to surprise Snow with a gift and already knew where to go to get it as Cindy never shut up about the place...

* * *

><p>O Sometime later<p>

"_Reservation: check, Snow's present: check, proper (and clean) suit: check"_ Everything was ready and now all Bigby had to do was wait until the time came to pick up Snow.

Although nothing in the Wolf's life could ever be this easy without problems arising...

Bigby walked into the Business Office, still in his work clothes of course, and was thankful that Snow and Blue weren't there as he went behind Snow's desk and placed two distinct presents inside her top drawer which had contained nothing of note to begin with; the flapping of wings made him jump a little though as Bufkin landed on the desk.

"Hello Mr Bigby; it's nice to see you up and moving again!"

Bigby eyed up Bufkin and the monkey shifted under his gaze "What'd you see, Bufkin?"

"You put something into Miss White's desk..."

"That's right and you are not to tell her that I did; it's a surprise for tonight and I want it to remain that way, got it?"

Bufkin nodded "Of course Sheriff; I wouldn't want to upset you..." He flew off a little too quickly, Bigby didn't mean to scare him but he had that effect on people it seemed.

Bigby bumped into Blue on his way out of the Office "Oh hey Sheriff; Swineheart's been trying to reach you frantically for the past 10 minutes"

"Ok"

Bigby walked back into his office and called Swineheart "Hello?"

"Swineheart its Bigby-"

"Bigby, you need to come down to the Hospital right away, Cinderella has been asking for you..."

He sounded a little frantic "Ok, I'll be down there shortly"

* * *

><p>O The Knights of Malta Hospital<p>

Bigby was lead straight through to Cindy's private room by Swineheart and her appearance shocked him.

Cindy was lying down on her stomach with her entire torso and most of her legs covered in bandages and she appeared to be sleeping.

"What the fuck happened to her?"

Swineheart and Bigby moved closer to her and Swineheart responded "Someone called me at the docks and when I got there I found her almost naked and bleeding out..."

Bigby looked at Swineheart angrily "Was she raped?" Swineheart could hear the anger in Bigby's voice but didn't falter in his composure.

"No, nothing like that it seems; she appeared to have been keelhauled on a boat from the Homelands; the barnacles we found stuck in her back matched samples from the Old World, but the seawater is Mundane..."

Bigby looked back in confusion "She was keelhauled?"

Swineheart nodded "It would seem so; she needs to rest but every time she wakes up she asks to see you..."

Bigby looked back at his operative and then back at Swineheart "Can I have some privacy?"

Swineheart narrowed his gaze a little and relented "Fine; but if she takes a turn for the worst I will come back"

Bigby nodded "Of course"

With that, Swineheart left the room and Bigby pulled up a chair next to the bed; taking Cindy's outstretched hand into his own and drawing circles onto it with his thumb.

She stirred and opened her eyes halfway and gripped his hand tighter "Hey Boss"

She sounded weak and tired but who could blame her "No formalities Cindy, just tell me what happened"

Bigby was already enraged at the brutality she had been subjected to but would remain calm for now "It was Nick; he knows about you and he says he's going to destroy Fabletown"

Bigby's other hand clenched into a fist and he slammed it onto the bedside table in anger "Motherfucker; he's gonna pay for this"

"He's powerful Bigby; I stabbed him in the head and gouged out his eyes but he was fine when I woke up..."

Bigby looked at her more sternly "Then I'll rip him to fucking pieces!"

* * *

><p>O The docks; 7:23pm<p>

Bigby had practically sprinted all the way from the Hospital to the docks; he was aware of what time it was but he was going to make Nick pay for what he had done and the threats he had made. Hopefully Snow would understand if he was late due to urgent work...

He reached the bar and found no one outside; but inside were roughly 20 men all drinking and talking amongst themselves. They all looked at Bigby collectively and stood up when he walked in but before anything else could happen; Nick snapped his fingers loudly and they all quickly removed themselves from the bar and apparently the dock as well.

"Evening Sheriff, to what do I owe this pleasure? Care for a drink?" Nick pushed a double glass of bourbon out into Bigby's view and the Sheriff marched up to the bar before smacking the glass away.

"I'm going to fucking kill you; you sick son of a bitch" Nick smirked at the comment "Alright then" and reached under the bar...

He pulled out the shotgun and fired it; Bigby ducked to his right and grabbed a bottle from the bar and smashed it across Nick's face, in retaliation Nick fired the other barrel and Bigby ducked underneath it before snatching it away from him and crushing the barrel's into scrap metal and breaking the pistol grip in half before tossing the useless weapon to the ground.

Nick looked a little pissed off "That was my favourite weapon you flea-ridden prick" He stepped out from behind the bar and towered over Bigby with his arms crossed, but neither man was afraid of the other.

Bigby took a swing at Nick's face and his fist collided against his cheek hard; it didn't bounce off per se but it didn't do much else either; Nick snorted at the attempt and gestured for Bigby to hit him again. Bigby punched Nick in the chest hoping to wind him and again nothing happened. Nick chuckled before drawing back his fist and punching Bigby across the face with such strength and speed that he hit the floor.

Bigby got up groggily and Nick patted him down before standing him up straight again; Bigby morphed into his 2nd form and punched Nick again, this time Nick's head (but only his head) moved with the punch and he gave a slight grunt at the attack; Bigby punched him again and then kicked him in the crotch. Nick groaned slightly at the last attack before going in for a swift uppercut that Bigby dodged and retaliated by grabbing Nick's shirt and head butting him in the nose; it started to bleed a little and Nick grabbed Bigby's tie and punched him hard in the face, sending Bigby flying back into the pool table which then collided with the boxing ring.

Nick walked towards the now ruined table and pulled the destroyed wood apart to reach his opponent; as soon as the last piece was shifted, Nick was met with another punch to the face but this one knocked him backwards considerably and he actually felt pain from the attack, not to mention his nose was broken and bleeding a lot more fiercely now. Bigby had morphed into his 3rd form and proceeded to attack Nick with a barrage of violent punches and fierce slashes until he was backed up against the bar and trying to block Bigby's attacks but failing to do so. Nick was losing now as his every attempt at counter attacking was blocked, dodged or simply shrugged off by the hulking werewolf.

Bigby grabbed Nick and threw him into his bar, it cracked and broke at the impact and Nick fell behind it. But what happened next was scarier still; Nick put his hands to the bar and pulled himself up to reveal that he had other forms as well.

In his new form his skin was gone and only his flesh and muscles remained as the outer layer and Bigby could see every single vein in his body as they were coloured a sickly yellow and had pure black blood coursing through them at a rapid pace; his hands had developed claws much like Bigby's own and his eyes were a fierce yellow and his mouth could now stretch from ear to ear, revealing sharpened teeth inside. When he spoke his voice had become demonic and intimidating to say the least "I'm going to kill you now, Wolf!"

Nick lunged at Bigby and dug his claws into the werewolf's chest, dropping him to the floor with Nick on top; he began to punch Bigby repeatedly and with even more strength than he had done previously. The punches were feral and strong but Bigby eventually managed to get his arms up defensively and punch Nick's face which knocked him off. He grabbed Nick by the throat and ripped it out swiftly but the creature just started laughing as his breaths mingled with his blood and Bigby could hear the gurgling in his lungs and mouth, he was still breathing!

Nick grabbed Bigby by the shoulders and spat a large amount of blood into his face; the werewolf began to frantically snort and rub at his nose as the creature's blood was the most foulest and toxic thing that Bigby had ever had the displeasure of smelling in his entire life! Bigby was suffering a severe sensory overload and Nick began to punch, kick and slash away at Bigby as he wildly swung about in a failed attempt at trying to hit his attacker.

Bigby managed a lucky swipe and clawed out Nick's right eye; the creature cried out in pain and Bigby dug his fangs into its neck fiercely and tried to rip out more of it. Nick kneed Bigby in the stomach hard enough to break a couple of ribs and Bigby recoiled at the attack; Nick just wasn't dying and Bigby was becoming weaker and weaker by the second.

Bigby moved back and morphed into a full Wolf; Nick smiled at this and unleashed his third and final form as the Nuckelavee of legend: a giant stallion had erupted out of his legs and Nick's torso was attached just behind the horse's neck, it's hooves were made of sharpened bone and it had a beaked mouth and yellow eyes, Nick's own mouth now had visibly green breath coming out of it and his arms had now grown to such a length that his fingertips could touch the floor.

Bigby growled at Nick and lunged at him with an open mouth; he clamped down his jaw to find that Nick had raised his arms and was holding Bigby's jaw open that way and he breathed his poisonous black and green breath into his mouth; Bigby jumped back and managed to cough the toxic fumes out of his system before they could do any real damage and Nick brandished a large sword made out of what appeared to be sharpened bone.

He charged at Bigby quickly and swung the sword at his head; it collided with Bigby's eye socket and broke it in an instant, causing Bigby to recoil and whine in pain as Nick stabbed the sword through Bigby's chest and left it there whilst he pulled the great beast into a violent chokehold. Bigby squirmed and writhed to break free but was unable to do so and could feel his consciousness fading rapidly. Nick smashed Bigby into the floor and began to rapidly trample him with his hooves; breaking bones and tearing muscles as he did so before proceeding to violently punch the Wolf in its head and chest as hard as he could over and over.

Bigby had lost and if Nick had taken a second to notice, he would've seen that the Big Bad Wolf was now unconscious, but he just kept on attacking him...

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><p><strong>Next Time: The fate of the Big Bad Wolf is decided...<strong>


	20. The Death Of Bigby Wolf part 1

**The Death of Bigby Wolf part 1 – Bigby's demise**

**So welcome to the penultimate chapter of this first Act; I hope you enjoy what comes next...**

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><p>Back at the Woodland's building; it was coming up to 8 o'clock and Snow was doing some last minute checkups of her evening wear: she was wearing a black v-neck dress that showed a little cleavage, pearl earrings, black heels, eye shadow and lip gloss, with her hair flowing as it pleased. She was waiting patiently for Bigby to arrive...<p>

Outside the building; the Woodland's doorman Trusty John was meeting and greeting Fables as they entered and exited the building; the night was quiet and peaceful.

John could hear something in the distance and he pulled a look of pure horror when something big and furry landed in front of him; Bigby's seemingly lifeless Wolf body had suddenly landed in front of the building and John was almost scared to death at the sight of the bloodied and mangled creature.

"WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG, BAD WOLF?!" Nick in his true form pranced up to the Woodland's singing at the top of his demonic voice, he was towering at 10 feet tall from his hooves to his head.

"Sorry bout' that mate; I overshot a little bit" he dragged Bigby by his tail back out into the street with one hand and proceeded to continue punching him.

Grimble heard the noise and stepped outside along with many other Fables from different buildings to watch the violent slaughter before them; as soon as Grimble saw Bigby, he removed his glamour and charged at Nick "HEY!"

Nick looked up and was knocked backwards as the giant troll tackled him and proceeded to punch him in the face repeatedly; Nick grabbed Grimble's arm and twisted it so fast that it broke in 4 places simultaneously before pushing him off and trotting back towards Bigby, who had now reverted to a human form and was groaning quietly.

The Woodsman, Holly and Grendel had been walking towards Bullfinch Street. Upon hearing the noises, all 3 of them instantly prepared for a fight as they ran to protect Bigby; Nick back handed Woody away effortlessly and was locked in a struggle with Gren, Holly came up behind him and punched his horse body in the ribs causing his back legs to buckle slightly; Nick buck kicked Holly in the chest and she fell backwards gasping for breath as Nick dug his claws straight through Grendel's shoulder wound and half ripped his arm from his socket before smashing him into the ground headfirst.

The gathered crowds were too afraid to move as Nick scanned each and every person with precision, his horse head seemingly hissing at them as well "Anyone else want to protect this good-for-nothing dog!"

Nick was gazing intently at Bigby's horrifically bruised, bloodied and beaten body; he was swollen in several places and appeared lifeless. Nick didn't want him dead just yet though as he was trying to claim Bigby's soul as his own but could only do that by making him fear him; and so far that wasn't happening. Killing Bigby would yield no soul as he wasn't afraid in any way and it was making Nick furious.

Snow, Beauty, Beast, Boy Blue and pretty much all of Fabletown were now gathered around as Nick proceeded to hit and shout at Bigby in an attempt to get him to fear him.

"Come on Wolf! Fear me! FEAR ME!" Nick wasn't getting anything; he would have to do this the hard way it seemed...

He picked Bigby up before breathing his toxic breath deep into his lungs and throwing Bigby back towards the Woodland's, he landed just in front of the steps and rolled on the ground a little before stopping on his back.

"BIGBY!" Snow dropped to his side and cried a river as she called out his name and shook him slightly. Her sadness and Bigby's apparent murder caused Beast to become enraged and he quickly slapped Beauty and insulted her so she would get angry at him; she became infuriated in an instant and Beast fully transformed with his curse and charged at Nick.

Nick hit the floor as Beast punched him with full force before picking him up and breaking the horse's spine against his knee. Nick cried out and fell limp to the ground and slowly changed back into his 2nd form, he quickly shot up and dug his clawed hand into Beast's stomach and managed to pull out his intestines a little before slashing at his throat. Beast fell back from the pain and blood loss and caught sight of Nick's piercing yellow gaze boring straight through his own and into his soul; Beauty was frozen in shock at how her husband had been beaten so easily.

Nick changed back into a human (remarkably with his clothes on) and allowed himself to be restrained by Gren and Holly viciously as they forced his arms behind his back and kicked his legs out so he was on his knees; lifting his head up by his hair, Woody's axe gently scratching his neck.

Nick was covered in blood, cuts and bruises; all of them violent but none of them causing any major harm or discomfort to him; all he was feeling right now was utter annoyance that it would take a much longer amount of time to claim the Wolf's soul...

Snow marched up to him and wanted him dead on the spot "What did you do to Bigby!?" Nick smiled and released a breathy chuckle "I taught your mutt a lesson and now he is mine!"

Nick cracked his neck to the side and Bigby shuddered before going limp once more, no one noticed it though; Nick was taken down into the holding cells and locked up in the one next to Mary's.

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><p>A naked Bigby had been carried into the Business Office and was laid out on Snow's cleared desk; his dignity was being covered by Grimble's security jacket, his hand being held tightly by Snow's own as she sobbed over him.<p>

"Where the hell is Swineheart?" Snow yelled aggressively and not long afterwards, Swineheart entered the room.

"Alright, what has he done no-"As soon as Swineheart saw Bigby he sprinted over to him and instantly went into examination mode.

"Good God in heaven what happened to him...?" For once Swineheart sounded afraid and it made the others worried. Beast, Beauty, Briar Rose, Boy Blue, Bufkin, Flycatcher, Pinocchio, Grendel, Holly, Woody, Colin, Grimble and Trusty John were all staring at Bigby as Swineheart continued to assess the damage.

Swineheart stood up and sighed deeply before putting a hand to his forehead and shaking his head "He's done for..."

Snow looked up at him and Swineheart almost cried at seeing the realisation on her face "You have to do something!"

Swineheart shook his head "Most of his skeleton is broken and the rest is either fractured or bruised, his muscles are all either ripped or beaten to a pulp, his organs are more than likely ruptured in several places, he has heavy swelling all over his head and his breathing is strained and smells like toxins; he is done for Miss White!"

Snow and the others couldn't believe what they were hearing; they were all shocked but at the same time deeply saddened by the news. Bigby Wolf was going to die...

"No; you can't let that worthless cunt kill him, what the fuck do you have to do save him!" Woody was angry and desperate. Beauty was being held tightly by Beast as she sobbed into his shoulder and Beast couldn't contain his tears either and soon enough everyone in the Business Office was sobbing at the realisation that they would never see Bigby again. Snow was resting her forehead on Bigby's chest and crying against it, she was still holding his limp hand.

"Unless that Devil has the healing powers of a God then there is nothing I can do!" Woody was breathing down Swineheart's neck now and Holly gently pulled him away before embracing him; he sobbed into her shoulder and she tried her best to calm him down, but she was crying too.

"Then I'll beat it out of that worthless fucker myself!" Gren angrily turned but was stopped by Flycatcher, who stood in front of the door.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Gren spoke with suppressed rage; he didn't want to have to hurt Fly to reach Nick.

Flycatcher spoke through his tears "He won't help us and you know it..."

Bigby stirred ever so slightly and groaned painfully, his eyes couldn't open but his hand came free from Snow's grasp and lightly tapped her desk drawer with her present inside. She noticed this and opened the drawer, pulling out two gifts; one was a large assorted box of chocolates from Edward Bear's Candies and the other was a dark blue jewellery box from a Mundy store, there was a note inside as well that had obviously been written by Bigby as the handwriting was simple and clear:

_My dearest Snow; I hope you like the chocolate's, I remember you telling me once how they were your one and only vice when you were stressed and I thought you'd find them a better alternative to strong alcohol. The gift isn't the most original idea but I know you'll like it nonetheless. See you later princess. Yours truly, Bigby Wolf."_

Snow opened the jewellery box and pulled out a beautiful snowflake necklace on a delicate silver filigree chain, the snowflake was encrusted with small diamonds and had a single polished sapphire in the centre; a small print card at the bottom of the box read:

"_Mine to lose, always and forever"_

Snow looked back at Bigby's face; he had stopped breathing and his heart had stopped as well. She cried more intensely now as she pressed her trembling lips to his with longing and cried out for him to come back "Bigby, don't die, please, you can't be dead, you can't leave me, please!"

The others in the room had now realised the truth; Bigby was with Snow on Halloween night and Snow was Bigby's secret date tonight. Snow hugged his body and refused to let go when Blue put a hand to her shoulder. "Miss White; he's gone" Blue wasn't making any attempt to mask his sorrow however and no one would blame him for it.

"Get out! All of you get out now!" The others in the room took the hint and all left without a word; returning to elsewhere in the building to mourn the loss as Snow continued to cry over the corpse of her true love.

Bigby Wolf was dead and everyone was mourning him in ways that they never thought they would in their entire lives...

Beauty and Best both cried themselves to sleep that night as they hugged each other tightly for comfort; Snow couldn't find any form of sleep and in her sorrow she blindly threw a vase at her bedside table, breaking her alarm clock and drank down several bottles of wine to find some form of peace for the night.

Woody, Gren and Holly all drank themselves stupid as they made a toast to Fabletown's "Best and most loved monster" before finally passing out.

Everyone else was crying and mourning the loss of Bigby; none of them could find sleep and all of them wanted a piece out of Nick for what he had done.

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><p>O The Woodland's cells; shortly before Bigby's death<p>

Nick waited until his arrestors were gone before simply walking through the wall of his cell to Mary's; he walked through whilst emanating a thick black mist and Mary woke up at the presence. She turned around on the bed and then immediately shot up at the sight.

"Nick!"

"Mary!"

The 2 Fables hugged each other tightly in the cell; Mary was a little giddy at seeing Nick again but he was as calm as ever.

"I did it sweetheart; I got the Wolf right where I fuckin' want him"

Mary grinned as she and Nick became lost in a furiously passionate kiss which quickly shifted into a night of hot and wild sex; all of it fuelled by their victory against the Big Bad Wolf and Fabletown.

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><p><strong>Yeah I didn't feel it was appropriate for this chapter to contain NickxMary smut (maybe later ok...)<strong>

**Next time: The funeral is held...**


	21. The Death Of Bigby Wolf part 2

**The Death of Bigby Wolf part 2 – Goodbye**

**Last chapter for now dear readers; I hope you shed a tear like I did when writing it...**

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><p>3 days after Bigby's death came his funeral; it was a decision amongst Snow and those that Bigby could call friends that he be buried instead of simply thrown down the Witching Well, much to the annoyance of Bluebeard.<p>

"What makes the Wolf so special that he deserves a formal burial?" Bluebeard had the nerve to smirk in front of everyone as they were gathered in the Business Office and Woody had to resist the urge to knock his teeth out.

"Because he did more for this community than you ever did and because he deserves it!" Snow yelled at Bluebeard and the bald pirate looked angered at her comment.

"I'm the one who funds this community Miss White and your Wolf certainly did a fine job of protecting it by using violence, fear and murder!"

Gren stormed up to Bluebeard "You fuckin' asshole; I should've cut Bigby a break years ago if I'd known he had to suffer your sorry ass all the time!" He then grabbed Bluebeard by the collar of his red vest "I couldn't care less if you were the Mayor; get out of here and keep your mouth shut about Bigby Wolf's memory if you know what's good for you!"

Gren threw Bluebeard across the room and he quickly exited the door and headed back up to his lavish apartment.

Snow sighed deeply; she hadn't slept since Bigby's death, she would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and calling out his name, praying that he would come through her door, hold her tightly and tell her he loved her. She sniffled at the thought and quickly wiped a stray tear away from her cheek before she thought anyone would notice, but they already did.

Blue stepped up "Unfortunately, Bigby can't be buried at the Farm as he didn't die during wartime, but there is a privately owned cemetery not far from the Trip Trap that has agreed to let us bury him there..."

The others nodded and dispersed, leaving Snow, Blue and Bufkin alone in the Business Office; Snow had her head in her hands and Blue put a hand to her shoulder "Are you sure you want to do the eulogy?"

Snow nodded "Yes; I feel it's best if I do it"

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><p>O The Cemetery, Bigby's Funeral<p>

Everyone present on the night Bigby was killed had come to his funeral; meanwhile at the Farm, Weyland Smith and a very small number of the Farm Fables that knew Bigby as a nicer person than he was centuries ago all raised a drink in his honour; Toad and TJ were among them and TJ was crying most of all.

Snow stood up and began her eulogy with a sigh "Once upon a time; Bigby would've been remembered as an evil and lonesome monster that terrorised towns and killed hundreds of people for his own sport, until one day events came about that changed him in ways he never thought possible. Bigby reformed himself for me and came to Fabletown to be close to me; he wouldn't lie by saying it was for other people's benefit."

Snow sniffled slightly and paused a moment to compose herself "But in the short time that he was a part of this town and it's government in its beginnings, Bigby realised that he wanted to help the citizens of Fabletown as a means of seeking forgiveness from those he had wronged in the past. He learned to control himself and form friendships and bonds with others who would have never expected to receive help from the Big Bad Wolf."

"I am sure that many of us here today will leave their memories of Bigby being a cold and evil monster behind and come to remember him from now on as a trusted friend and a faithful ally to our cause; one who willingly gave his life in an attempt to protect us from a great evil as he has done so countless times in the past."

Snow began to cry but continued on nonetheless "He was the best of us in the end and I will miss him until the end of my days; may whatever Gods exist have mercy on his soul and carry him away to whatever afterlife exists in good faith. Rest in Peace Bigby Wolf"

The crowd collectively murmured "Rest in Peace" and Bigby's coffin was lowered 6 feet into the ground.

Everyone dropped a rose onto the coffin and some had a tiny note attached to it with a final message:

Woody's read: _"It was nice knowing ya dog; I'll give you some hell when my time comes, until then I'll miss you"_

Holly's read: _"Wherever you go I'll never forget what you did for me and my sister, hopefully she'll thank you to, god bless you Bigby"_

Gren's read: _"Never thought I'd say this, but I'm gonna miss ya buddy"_

Beast and Beauty's note read: _"You changed for the better in the end and we feel honoured to have known you as were when you passed; we hope to see you again someday Bigby"_

Blue's note read: _"We've known each other for so long now it seems like a bad dream that you're gone; I hope we'll meet again soon Bigby"_

Flycatcher's read: _"You helped me keep myself in check all these years and I never really thanked you for it; I will thank you myself if and when we meet in the afterlife Sheriff"_

Snow's read: _"We should've had so much more time together; but I'll always remember you and what you did for me and this community"_

After the last notes and roses were laid by the rest of the people gathered, it was time for the wake. The wake was held up at the Trip Trap courtesy of Holly.

The last person to leave the grave was Snow "Bigby; I don't know if you can hear me but... I miss you" She sobbed as she put a hand to the marble tombstone which read _Here lies Bigby Wolf; trusted friend and protector of many; he will be missed"_

"Maybe one day I'll see you again; the other side is a mystery to us as we live for endless years; but know that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and that I never hated you for anything"

She pulled her hand away and stepped back "Goodbye my love; my Big Bad Wolf" and then she was gone.

If Snow had stayed just a little longer she might have seen a giant man with white hair appear in front of the grave and place his hand on top of it as she had "Come back to us, Son". Mr North disappeared as soon as he finished the sentence and Snow looked back at the feel of a cold breeze brushing past her head.

To Be Continued...

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><p><strong>Ok now I have some things to confess: I wrote all 21 chapters of this story 3 weeks ago and spent the time between finishing them and uploading them purely on updates. Also this last chapter was MUCH longer than it is now, but I'm saving what I took out for the next chapter in the story...<strong>

**Atm I am writing Act 2 and have 6 chapters done already, but none of them are very good imo so it will probably be a week or so before I start uploading the next Act.**

**Things to expect in Act 2: We will be returning to the Homelands for the majority of the story, we will be introduced to several new OC's and even some charcters from the comics like Lumi and Ride, there will be more focus on Nick as a character, the next Act will NOT be the last Act of the story, I still have some ideas left in my head for how I am going to finish up this tale...**

**Until the next time dear readers!**


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